Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been dominant so far this season, with the Austrian team winning all twelve races so far and Verstappen getting ten of those victories to his name. Teams like Mercedes have been nowhere close to challenging the Dutchman or Red Bull, but George Russell has not given up on his goal of winning a race before the season ends.
Russell joined Mercedes in 2022, after spending the first three seasons of his career with Williams. He impressed everyone by finishing ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ standings and was also the Silver Arrows’ sole race winner that year. 2023, however, has not been very kind to Russell.
Solid result to end a tough run of races. We know where we need to improve and will be back stronger in the second half of the season. For now, though, it’s time for a break over summer. Thanks to the whole team for their hard work so far this year. Enjoy some well-earned rest.✌️ pic.twitter.com/kcrsytDBg6
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) July 30, 2023
Russell is P6 in the standings and has 99 points to his name. He even has a podium finish to his name, but the main issue lies in his gap to Hamilton who is 49 points ahead of him. The seven-time world champion also has three more podium finishes, which suggests that Russell could have done better, driving the W14.
Despite having a mediocre season by his standards, Russell is sure about his ability to dethrone Verstappen and Red Bull at some point this campaign.
George Russell aiming to break Max Verstappen’s historic run
George Russell shed light on his own performances at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the F1 summer break. According to him, things haven’t been all gloomy and he feels it has been a season of two halves.
As reported by Race Xpress, the 25-year-old said, “In the first six races I was happy with my own performances, I was strong there. After that, we certainly missed a number of opportunities.”
The Kings-Lynn-born driver went on to say that everyone at Mercedes’ factory back in Brackley is working hard to make sure they can reach the front again. When they do, he is ready to grasp the opportunity to win a race once again.
Talking about his struggles, Russell revealed the moment he realized his season was going downhill, despite having a somewhat promising start to the year.
Russell reveals why he is struggling at Mercedes
Russell’s struggles in Mercedes over the last few weeks have been particularly highlighted by his gap to Hamilton in terms of performance. However, the young Brit knows exactly why he is facing these problems in the first place.
In the beforementioned review, Russell added, “Recently my season turned around and we started struggling with the car. We chose a certain set-up, but that turned out to be the wrong choice.”
There is more #F1 on the horizon, we promise 😅 pic.twitter.com/Pa8FDWvVYh
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 7, 2023
Even though Russell is adamant about him and Mercedes returning to the front of the grid, the signs aren’t promising. Red Bull has won all twelve races this season, and is once again the heavy favorite to win both the Dutch and the Italian GP, when racing resumes in two weeks time.
