© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
George Russell says he doesn’t believe McLaren is “doing anything untoward”, and they need to be given “credit where credit’s due”.
After McLaren’s dominant 1-2 at the Miami Grand Prix, George Russell was asked if Mercedes can catch the British team.
George explained that McLaren’s key strength is in the way they manage tyre temperatures.
“I’ve been saying that a lot of season,” the Briton told Sky Sports.
“What we saw from them in the likes of China and Japan, it’s probably their worst case scenario, and what we’re seeing in the hot race of Bahrain and Miami is their best case scenario.
“So on their worst day, they’re still the best. On their best day, of course, they’re the best.
“So, we want to keep on improving. It’s clearly down to tyre temperatures, because they’re just making a step when it’s really hot.
“And I think Max has said it once or twice already as well. It’s like nine teams doing something wrong, it’s only one team that have got it really right. So we’ve got to improve.”
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Red Bull has, on the other hand, raised suspicion regarding McLaren’s performance, and has reportedly been carrying out its own investigation into McLaren’s supposedly illegal tyre and brake cooling methods.
This accusation has been denied by McLaren CEO Zak Brown, and in Miami the American even told Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to ‘put up or shut up’.
George says he doesn’t believe McLaren is doing anything illegal.
“I don’t believe they’re doing anything untoward. They’ve been this dominant condition for 18 months now.
“So, you’ve got to give them credit where credit’s due, and the rest of us have to improve.
“I think we have ideas ourselves where we can improve in this regard, but that’s a long-term process, and that’s a bit of a bugger.
“But this is Formula 1, when there’s a team dominating, it’s very challenging to catch back up,” Russell concluded.
