George Russell accepts the challenge Mercedes faces in 2024, but insists past mistakes will not be repeated this season.
Russell is optimistic about the progress at Mercedes over winter, which could determine their success for both 2024 and 2025. Both internally and externally, the importance of this year’s W15 is well understood in the F1 paddock.
After following the doomed “zeropod” concept last winter, Mercedes were forced to change their direction. James Allison was re-appointed for this task, replacing Mike Elliot, who would eventually depart from the team entirely.
Though Elliot cannot be blamed fully for last year’s disappointment, his exit symbolises the new approach from the team.
There were still signs of encouragement in 2023, with Lewis Hamilton’s pole position in Hungary being an obvious example.
Russell: The same mistakes won’t be repeated
Another encouraging moment for Toto Wolff’s squad (despite the post-race disqualification) was the American GP. It was perhaps the W14’s strongest race of the season, at least in terms of race pace.
Even accounting for the time gained from their floor clearance, the gap to Red Bull was significantly lessened. Unfortunately for Mercedes, one strong performance with an asterisk is unlikely to give Adrian Newey any nightmares over the winter.
However, the winter break will be their best opportunity to progress meaningfully since 2022. The first twelve months of these F1 regulations, frustratingly for Mercedes, were essentially wasted.
Last season’s trajectory was also limited by the budget gap – preventing the German constructor from introducing the large-scale changes necessary to bridge the gap.
Speaking with 2024 in his sights, George Russell is optimistic that Mercedes have learned their lessons for 2024:
“I think last year it was all a little bit rushed,” he told motorsport.com.
“We didn’t have all the information to hand. We may have jumped to a couple of conclusions without thoroughly going through the consequences…
“Red Bull dominance this year is probably the greatest – I think statistically it is the most dominant car ever, so we’ve all got a huge task on our hands…
“But [I’m] definitely confident we won’t fall into some of the traps we did [in 2023].”
Mercedes against the odds
Mercedes will join Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin in leading the charge against Red Bull. The Silver Arrows will inevitably be expected to fight for victories – regardless of circumstance.
After all, excuses don’t bode well at the sharp end of Formula 1.
Still, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell won’t be the favourites at round one in Bahrain. Bridging the gap to Red Bull (particularly over race distance) will be the first priority.
If this primary objective is reached, it will give Toto Wolff’s team a platform to build upon – validating their work over winter.
