George Russell believes Mercedes have “overcompensated” with this year’s car in search of a breakthrough in the current era of F1 rules, with a disappointing start to the 2024 season continuing at the Miami GP.
Mercedes made improvements to this weekend’s event, but Russell and Lewis Hamilton were eliminated in the second part of sprint qualifying and then failed to score sprint points.
They improved in Saturday’s qualifying, but were more than eight-tenths behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen, as Russell qualified seventh and Hamilton eighth.
Twelve months ago, Mercedes abandoned its “sidepod-less” car concept, then made other significant changes over the winter in a bid to move closer to the front.
The first six events show that hasn’t happened, as the team is off to its worst start to a season since 2011.
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Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes struggled to get the most out of their tires in qualifying, while George Russell admitted they were a step behind McLaren and Ferrari.
“The clock doesn’t lie. We know some of the changes we’ve made since the end of last year, perhaps overcompensated by some development items we’ve done,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.
“We have limitations with the car now, which is a totally different limitation to what we had 12 months ago.
“We’ve done a lot of work to fix the problems and we’ve gone too far in this direction. We know we have to improve and we have to improve quickly.”
Russell: Mercedes knows how to solve problems
It’s unclear exactly what limitations Russell is referring to, as this year’s Mercedes has been slower across the board compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.
Mercedes has failed to comply with current ground effect regulations, which were introduced in 2022.
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George Russell takes Martin Brundle through the tight turns of the Miami International Speedway
Initially, the data seen in the wind tunnel did not match performance on the track and the team also struggled with a rebound effect, known as porpoise.
Russell insists Mercedes, who won an eighth consecutive constructors’ title between 2014 and 2021, “definitely knows” how to solve their problems.
“When we look at the data, we understand why we are in the current position. When we look at the data, we understand why we are in the same position,” he added.
“Unfortunately, we probably overcompensated to address the issues of last year and went from one extreme to the other and we kind of have to go back and end up in a halfway house.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz discusses all the big talking points from Miami Grand Prix qualifying
“When the new upgrades take eight weeks to get into the car, you learn that problem with Race One, Race Two… you can’t just make an improvement in 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 when you’re behind to suddenly make progress. Everyone expects it tomorrow. We want it 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 from session to session, and sometimes even lap to lap, as Hamilton showed in qualifying when he set the third fastest time in Q2, but was half a second slower in Q3.
Hamilton says the track temperature throughout qualifying in Miami was similar, it was just a lack of control of the soft tires which caused performance to fluctuate.
“These tires are so sensitive. Trying to make the tires work and deliver the maximum potential is something we struggle with,” said the seven-time world champion.
“Then we had this glimmer of hope in Q2, then in Q3 we were nowhere. Overall the day was much better. We progressed in the sprint then in qualifying, getting into Q3 was positive .
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Lewis Hamilton loses place to Yuki Tsunoda after Kevin Magnussen goes off track to defend his position
“Q3 just wasn’t really great, but I’m grateful to have gotten in. For us to be eighth tenths is tough. We’re fighting against the Haas and I don’t really know if they’re the real one. speed of our car or if it’s the tires.
“I think there’s a lot of things in these tires that we’re struggling with…we haven’t been able to use them all year.”
The Mercedes pair have the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris directly in front of them on the grid and Russell will be hoping to challenge the Woking-based team.
“I expect to look forward and hope there is no pressure from behind. We have to accept 7th and 8th place, that’s where we are at the moment,” he said. Russell said.
“We are a step behind Ferrari and McLaren, a big step behind Red Bull. The result we showed in qualifying was the maximum but I am convinced that we can take a step forward.”
Sky Sports F1 Miami GP live schedule
Sunday May 5
6:05 p.m.: Race 2 of the F1 Academy
7:30 p.m.: Preparation for the Grand Prix on Sunday in Miami*
9 p.m.: The MIAMI GRAND PRIX*
11 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction from the Miami GP*
Midnight: Ted’s Notebook*
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
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