After becoming one of the most consistent performers on Saturday, George Russell suffered a shock Q1 exit in Hungary. The Brit started the race from 17th on a difficult overtaking track. In the Mercedes’ race debrief, technical director James Allison explained what went wrong. He took most of the blame away from Russell and assumed major responsibility for the poor result.
In the video, he explained, “Put very simply, our Q1 for George was a mess. Some part of it was mistakes made by George. The majority, the center of gravity of the mistakes, were mistakes that the team made.” After explaining what had happened, he added, “Very disappointing thing for George and something that we’re very sorry for our part in.”
Contrasting fortunes for Mercedes’ qualifying in Hungary
George Russell will start the Grand Prix from P18! #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9jbZXuGDsP
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 22, 2023
But what had happened? He explained in the second run on a drying track, there was miscommunication. The team had already handicapped Russell by not giving him enough fuel. So the pit wall communicated a fast, slow, and then one final fast lap would be the best way to optimize the situation. However, the Brit did not comply.
Despite his team’s instructions, George Russell went for two consecutive fast laps. This meant his tires weren’t in the optimal window and at their best when it came to the last lap flying lap. This is why everyone behind him improved drastically knocking the Mercedes man out. However, it was still an overall positive weekend for the team and they’re planning to carry it in the last race before the summer break.
Mercedes and Co. plan to maintain their podium streak in the upcoming Belgian GP
The Brackley outfit has secured five consecutive podiums after their front wing upgrades. Absolutely no one in the entire F1 world expected the Silver Arrows to catch up to the front as quickly as they did. Now with Mercedes seemingly staying at the front, the expectations are naturally rising. The team now wants the best and maximum result every race weekend and the Belgian GP is no different. Allison revealed the team has high hopes for a strong finish ahead of the F1 summer break.
View this post on Instagram
He said, “We’ll certainly be going there with the intention of doing well. We really want to finish this half of the year before the summer break on a high. We’ll be doing our level best to try to make sure that’s exactly what we do.”
However, the technical director isn’t oblivious to the level of competition. Despite that, Mercedes is now eyeing for wins for the rest of the season. They still need some catching up to do. Although that’s exactly what they’ve been doing for the past two years. Now the team back in Brackley has finally started to make ground and they won’t stop.
