© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
George Russell attended the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Thursday Drivers’ Press Conference. Here is the full transcript!
Q: George, can we throw it back to Monaco first of all. You were pretty hard on yourself on Sunday night in Monaco. Eighth on the grid to fifth in the race looked like a decent day’s work, yet you wanted more?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, I mean, I was just talking to Esteban about it, because we didn’t pit from the Hard onto the Medium we were effectively in P3 and then made a bit of a mistake on the out lap, even under the yellow flag I wasn’t even pushing but that’s just how challenging the conditions were out there for everybody. And yeah, shame to miss those two extra positions to not be on the podium, but Esteban deserved it that weekend, so we would have been overstretching had we achieved it. Nevertheless, it’s history now, and looking forward to this weekend.
Q: Well, where do you think your car sits in the pecking order now? Because after that good double points finish by you guys in Monaco, you’re now just one point behind Aston Martin. Do you think you’re the third fastest car, second fastest car?
GR: I think there’s a big variety from Saturday to Sunday performance. I think when you look on Saturday performance, we’re certainly behind Ferrari and Aston Martin when you look, and sometimes, you know, the Alpine as well. When you look into the Sunday performance, we’re probably a little bit closer to Aston Martin. But this weekend will be a good test. We’d like to think we can jump ahead of Ferrari globally, close that gap to Fernando, as he is definitely pretty fast, and try to close the gap to Red Bull and get P2 in the Constructors’.
Q: How did the updates you ran in Monaco feel to drive?
GR: Yeah, I mean, as everybody else is saying, you can’t really judge anything in Monaco. But there were certainly no nasty surprises. And considering how much we changed, I guess that was a positive in itself. But this will be a true test.
Q: How much more will you learn here?
GR: I mean, we didn’t learn anything from Monaco with regards to the new updates. So yeah, this will be where we take a new baseline and build from there.
Q: And will the lessons learned here shape the remainder of Mercedes’ season?
GR: Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve made a lot of changes since the Bahrain test. We learned pretty quickly into the season that the car wasn’t where we wanted it to be. So this, as I said, should be the new baseline. And we can we can go from here.
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, picking up what you said about realising when the car wasn’t exactly where you wanted it to be: what was the penny-dropping moment for you that the car still had some of the issues from last year? Shakedown? Was it testing or was it the first Qualifying when you saw where everyone else stood against Mercedes?
GR: I think the first time you realise is when you look at the lap times. You drive around the track, the car can sometimes feel great, but the lap times aren’t representing the feeling and vice versa. I’m sure there’s, even for championship-winning cars, they may not also feel perfect. We’re just driving around at a slightly higher pace. So I think it was when we saw that the lap times weren’t translating into what we expected. Aston Martin clearly made a big jump. And we hadn’t made the jump that we were expecting and needed to make changes quick. So it was literally straight after the very first test in Bahrain. We were already planning towards the changes that are being implemented, last week in Monaco and obviously this weekend.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) George, do you think Red Bull can win every race this season?
GR: Yeah, I think like Max said, on pure pace, for sure, they’ve got the potential, but certain things can happen. And I’d like to think we’ll be able to fight at some point and take advantage of some misfortune, down the order. But yes, it’s challenging. I agree with what Max said. There has always been dominance in Formula 1 . And I don’t know how we get to a place where you can have multiple drivers and teams fighting for the championship, because I think that would be the best for the sport, best for all of us. And I think the fans would love it. But obviously, you can’t always get what you dream for.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Formula 1 tries to get the field more and more together with the aero handicap system, so reducing wind tunnel time. Do you feel, so far, that has been a good and effective tool? And if not, what do you think is a good way or a better way, and not too artificial a way to get the field more and more together on the long term?
GR: I mean, from a technical standpoint, I have no view or idea how that could be achieved. And obviously, we’ve only been a couple of years now into the aero regulation and the handicap system, but it hasn’t drastically changed anything up and down the order. Maybe the only team you can argue is Aston Martin, but I think that’s probably via, you know, certain engineers joining to help push in the right direction. And, you know, you could give quadruple the amount of wind tunnel time to the team at the bottom over the one at the top and the the one at the top would probably still come out in the lead.
Q: (Alasdair Reid – The Times) George, I’m just wondering how much you’ve had Spain ringed in your diary for the last few weeks? You’ve been on three slightly quirky circuits and you’re coming to a proper circuit, knowing that this is the one that is going to test your upgrades. So, how excited have you been about that prospect and how confident are you that your car is going to do who you want?
GR: I’m excited for this weekend. It’s definitely a challenging start to the season. I don’t think a lot of people you know appreciate going from Saudi to Miami to Melbourne. You know, Jeddah, they are all very… I said, Saudi and Jeddah, didn’t I? What else am I missing? Baku! Baku, Monaco.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Baku, Azerbaijan…
GR: Yeah, Monaco, Monte Carlo! It’s a really challenging start to the season. And I think now these next five races or so you’ll get a better picture of where the car truly is. And the order will be in a bit more of a settled position. But, you know, we’re not going to judge everything based on this weekend. We know last year we had a really competitive weekend in Barcelona, I think I was on the podium, Lewis was really strong in the race after a puncture, and we came away thinking, you know, all of our problems are solved. And we got to the following couple of races and learned that wasn’t the case. So you know, that’s Formula 1. I’m sure we’ll probably have a slightly more competitive weekend here in Barcelona, but that doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily back.
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) To George and Zhou. You are both graduates from Formula 2 to Formula 1 in the past five years or so. How well do you feel Formula 2 prepared you for the rigours of racing in F1? And what was the biggest shock in stepping up from F2 to F1?
GR: Yeah, it’s definitely a huge step in terms of speed. But I think the biggest shock for me in getting to Formula 1 was on the technical front, you are dealing so much with all of the data in front of you, understanding the tyres, the tyre prep, you know, the bulk temperature, surface temperature, all of those things that you had no idea about in Formula 2, because the information just purely wasn’t there. So, mixed feelings about the lack of data in F2, whether that’s a good thing or not. But I think I would like to see those guys get the chance to have some of the sensors that we have in Formula 1 because we know in Formula 1 a driver could be half a second lap quicker, purely by getting the tyres in the right window or not, and in Formula 2, with such limited track time, you’re, I wouldn’t say you were necessarily guessing, but you don’t really have that chance to learn and know exactly what’s needed for each situation. So that’s certainly difficult for F2 drivers.
Source: FIA.com
