George Russell Could Have Missed on His First Ever Grand Prix Win Because of This Leak in His Car

George Russell brought the broadest smiles in the Mercedes garage last year when he won the Brazilian Grand Prix. After dominating the entire grid for eight years, the Silver Arrows saw a massive performance slump.

In 2022, Mercedes were not even near to competing for the championship. They missed nailing the new aero-regulations, while Ferrari and Red Bull settled well under them and had a superior car than the Brackley-based team.

But their saving grace came at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil, where they finally got their win in the season. Something on which they were focusing really hard after making several developments in the second half of the season.

Also read: George Russell Upset 10 GP Winner’s Bold Prediction Of Beating Lewis Hamilton With Equal Machinery

George Russell could have missed on his sole win

However, a small car leakage could have missed Mercedes’s only win that season. And the most interesting part is that Russell had no idea about it.

Apparently, the Briton race driver had a water leak in his car that could have threatened his race win, as he could have been forced to retire through the mid-way of his race.

But the team took the call to continue the race and leave the rest to their fate. In the meantime, they kept Russell aloof, obviously to keep him away from any pressure and risk losing his composure.

The decision eventually paid off, with Russell crossing the line before any other driver. The remarkable thing over here is that Mercedes was without Toto Wolff in the garage. So, the team took such a big call without him leading the pack.

Getting back in 2023

Mercedes truly despised being the third-best team on the grid last year. Why not? When winning became a habit for the Silver Arrows. That’s why they are planning to have a comeback next season.

However, there is a catch. Team boss Wolff has declared that Mercedes have made improvements that pushed them back in 2022. But they are yet to run it in real time. So he believes most of the first few races would go into catching Red Bull and Ferrari.

Back on track for the first time in 2023. 👌 pic.twitter.com/8bglJLO6Bp

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 1, 2023

But the season is long. Mercedes, with their consistency, can bounce back in the championship race even if they see a considerable gap against their rivals after the first two months of the season.

Moreover, the recent interviews by Wolff only signal that he doesn’t want to create unrealistic hype around his team’s chances in 2023. As he said recently, he wants his team to be humble this year.

Also read: Valtteri Bottas Refuses To Stand With Lewis Hamilton by Affirming FIA’s Ban on Political Statements

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More