Mercedes saw a difficult start to its 2022 season with W13 not being able to deliver the performance that would help the team fight at the top of the grid. However, going forward George Russell believes that there is nothing stopping his team from getting to the top in 2023.
The German manufacturers were able to improve their cars over the season and that yielded them some good results.
Russell scored his maiden victory at the Brazillian GP. Eventually, the team also saw itself finish in the top 3 in the constructors’ championship.
Therefore, the young Briton believes that the rate at which the Silver Arrows made improvements shows a positive trajectory heading forward.
When asked about the prospects of Mercedes fighting for the championship title, Russell told Motorsport.com, “there’s nothing telling us we can’t achieve this.”
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George Russell is confident of competing with Red Bull
The Brackley-based team were able to identify the problems they were having and find a solution for them as the 2022 season progressed.
Russell and his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had some disappointing results at the start of the year, were able to close the gap towards the end of the season.
Given all the growth, Russell explains that the team has been clear for about 2 months about the targets that have to achieve in terms of their development.
And if they are able to achieve those targets, Russell says that he is pretty “confident that the team can compete with Red Bull.”
🗣️ “Having to wait probably a couple of years longer, made it all the more special” ✨
George Russell reacts to how he won his first race in #F1 last time out in Brazil 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CQ3EkRs52o
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 21, 2022
The young Briton highlights the issues of Mercedes
At the start of the season, there were times when Mercedes’ star driver finished P10 or P9 and would struggle to compete with Haas and Alfa Romeo in the midfield.
Russell recalled the race in Imola where he finished P4 and he had the same pace as Lando Norris in McLaren and he had Valtteri Bottas chasing him in an Alfa Romeo.
But as the season concluded, in comparison to the cars that didn’t go through a similar development as Ferrari or Red Bull, Mercedes made massive strides.
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