George Russell curbs expectations with Mercedes' pace, as the W13 keeps falling into traps when it gets any improvement
Mercedes once again opted for different configurations for the cars of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in Canada. The results were positive: the seven-time champion finished on the podium, with George right behind in fourth place. But that doesn't mean it was easy for #63. After the race, he said it's good to curb expectations, as each circuit delivers a different challenge to the team.
"I would like to think that the high speed should appeal to us a little more. But there are no guarantees, every track we've been to has kind of given us an unknown. And we are facing different problems every race weekend. I'd like to think we'll be more competitive, but I really don't know," he said.
"With the car in general, we solved one problem and fell into another trap. The porpoising was solved. But then, when you get the car closer to the ground, we're hitting the ground pretty aggressively. There doesn't seem to be any sweet spot at the moment," he added.
To try to lessen the kicks, Mercedes' way out was to lift the car. Only this did not mean that all problems were solved, or at least alleviated. And the answer, for Russell, lies in the performance.
"We've run with the car high, we've run with the car low, and the performance hasn't improved or decreased. Even when you run the car higher, you have different effects. When you run low, you have different effects. It's tricky to get right," he explained.
"So, although on paper there seemed to have been a small improvement, we're still a long way from where we need to be. So we haven't made a lot of progress yet. But we're still working as hard as we can to close the gap," finished #63.