© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
George Russell says he is in a similar situation to when he was at Williams, with rivals so far ahead that you can “almost afford to take a few more risks to try and make up that gap”.
At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix drivers’ press conference George Russell gave his view of Mercedes’ current situation.
“We are very fortunate that the calendar is not very dense at the start of this season,” the Briton said.
“Even if it’s a couple of months we’re only six or seven races down out of a 23-race season, and even if you come out of the blocks fast after the summer break, even as Mercedes and Lewis did last year, you’re still within a shot.
“We need to be in almost damage limitation mode at the moment. Pick up the pieces when there’s an opportunity, don’t throw away unnecessary points even though it may just be for fifth or sixth, or hopefully a bit higher, and make sure we’re within touching distance always.
“Then hopefully when the car does improve we can come back fighting. It’s a very long season.
“We’ve all got confidence if we do things right there’s no reason why we can’t close the gap and potentially overtake, but equally we appreciate and recognise Ferrari and Red Bull will continuously improve as well.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“We could close up by six-tenths, there’s no reason why they can’t extend by another six-tenths as well. We’ve got to play it by ear.”
However, the situation the team is in right now allows them to experiment more.
“For me personally, it feels at the moment in a similar position to what I found myself in previous years – that our competitors ahead of us are so far in front, and we do have a bit of a buffer behind, [so] you can almost afford to take a few more risks to try and make up that gap.
“For me, I qualified ninth and we had the pace to come back through the field and back up to P5, P6. We are in a bit of an intriguing spot right now that we can try a few things.
“But I think ultimately there’s more to come from all of us,” concluded Russell.
