George Russell believes Mercedes have “overcompensated” with this year’s car as they seek to break through in F1’s current rules era as they continue their lackluster start to the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
Mercedes made an upgrade for this weekend’s event, but both Russell and Lewis Hamilton were eliminated in the second part of sprint qualifying and then failed to score in the sprint.
They improved on Saturday’s qualifying but were more than eight-tenths behind polesitter Max Verstappen, with Russell in seventh and Hamilton in eighth.
Twelve months ago, Mercedes abandoned the “sidepod-less” car concept before making further significant changes over the winter in a bid to move closer to the lead.
The first six games suggest that’s not happening, and the team is experiencing its worst start to a season since 2011.
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Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes struggled to get the best out of their tires in qualifying, while George Russell agrees they are a step behind McLaren and Ferrari
“The stopwatch doesn’t lie. We know some of the changes we’ve made since the end of last year and maybe some of the development projects we’ve done have overcompensated,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.
“We have restrictions on cars now, which is completely different to what we had 12 months ago.
“We’ve done a lot of work to fix the problem, but we’ve gone too far in that direction. We know we need to improve, and we need to improve quickly.”
Russell: Mercedes know how to solve problems
It’s not entirely clear what limitations Russell is referring to, as this year’s Mercedes is slower in all aspects compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.
Mercedes has not yet mastered the current ground effects regulations due to be introduced in 2022.
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George Russell leads Martin Brundle around tight turns at Miami International Speedway track
Initially, the data they saw in the wind tunnel didn’t correlate with on-track performance, and the team struggled with the bouncing effect, also known as the “dolphin effect.”
Russell insists Mercedes, which won an eighth consecutive constructors’ title between 2014 and 2021, “absolutely know” how to solve their problems.
“When we look at the data, we understand why we are where we are. When we look at the data, we understand why we are in the same position,” he added.
“Unfortunately, we probably overcompensated for fixing last year’s problems and have gone from one extreme to that, and we need to rewind and find ourselves midway through.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on all the big talking points from Miami Grand Prix qualifying
“When new upgrades take eight weeks to get into the car, you learn about it in the first race, the second race… you can’t just carry the upgrades over to the next race.
“You have to put it in the wind tunnel, you have to design it, you have to draw it, you have to build it and suddenly you’re halfway through the season.
“That’s why it’s so difficult to suddenly make progress when you’re at a disadvantage. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow. We hope for tomorrow too, but that’s the reality of F1.”
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Miami Grand Prix qualifying highlights
Hamilton: Mercedes struggles to understand tires
The W15 was very inconsistent in every race and sometimes even between laps, as shown by Hamilton in qualifying where he was third fastest in Q2, But in season three it was half a second slower.
Hamilton said that the temperature of the entire track in Miami qualifying was about the same, and it was just because he failed to master the soft tires that the results fluctuated.
“These tires are very sensitive. Trying to get the tires to work and get the most out of them is the challenge we face,” said the seven-time world champion.
“Then we had a glimmer of hope in Q2 and then in Q3 we got nowhere. Overall it was a better day. We made progress in the sprint and then qualifying and got into third The quarter was positive.
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Lewis Hamilton loses a spot to Yuki Tsunoda after Kevin Magnussen runs off track to defend his position
“The third quarter wasn’t great but I’m happy to get in there. It’s difficult for us to be eight tenths down. We’re fighting against Haas and I really don’t know if that’s what we’re racing for.” True speed, or if it’s tires.
“I think there’s a lot of issues with these tires that we’re trying to work out… We’re not going to be able to use them all year long.”
Mercedes’ Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ McLaren are directly ahead of them, and Russell hopes they can challenge the Vaughan-based team. Kim’s motorcade.
“I hope to look forward and hope that there is no pressure behind us. We have to accept that P7 and P8 are where we are now,” Russell said.
“We are one step behind Ferrari and McLaren, and a big step behind Red Bull. Our performance in qualifying was the best, but I believe we can take a step forward.”
Sky Sports F1 Miami Grand Prix live schedule
Sunday, May 5
6.05pm: F1 Academy Race 2
7.30pm: Preparations for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix*
9pm: Miami Grand Prix*
11pm: Checkered Flag: Miami Grand Prix Reactions*
Midnight: Ted’s Notebook*
* Also broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event
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