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George Russell has shared his feelings that the best of McLaren is yet to come, as he claims that nobody has seen the true potential of the Papaya cars yet, due to the first three races being held in relatively colder conditions. If true, this would prove to be bad news for their rivals, as most teams are already struggling to keep up the pace with the team from Woking.
George Russell finished the Japanese Grand Prix in P5, which was his worst result of the season so far, after having claimed the podium in the first two races in Australia and China, respectively. Regardless, it has been a decent start to the year for the Briton, who is settling into the role of team leader at Mercedes.
Speaking after the race at Suzuka on Sunday, Russell told Sky Sports Germany that he was happy with the start of his season and that he wants to work on delivering consistent performances throughout the year. The 27-year-old also claimed that he could not have expected to do a lot better, given the performance of the McLaren cars in the hands of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
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Speaking further about the Papaya team, Russell shared his belief that the best of McLaren is yet to come, as he expects them to be rapid in warmer conditions. [via formule1.nl]
“The best of McLaren is yet to come," said Russell. "It was three cold races. If we go to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we'll have 35°C temperatures and we will see that those McLaren guys will shine," he added. [Translated via Safari]
Speaking about the Mercedes having done well to this point in the season, Russell again alluded to the temperatures at the first three races of the year:
"We have always been stronger in cooler conditions, so I remain realistic. We've had three good races, but there are 21 more to come.”
Mercedes sit second in the Constructors' standings after three races and a sprint. While Russell has had a solid start to the year, his rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli has not been too far behind, having made an impressive start to his F1 career with the Silver Arrows.
McLaren boss explains why the team did not swap their drivers around during the Japanese GP
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella explained that they did not feel Oscar Piastri was significantly faster than Lando Norris to make a switch and go after Max Verstappen during the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. The Dutchman started the race ahead of the McLaren pair and the three drivers finished in the same order that they had started in.
During the final stages of the race, the front three were within two seconds of each other, and it looked like Piastri in P3 was going quicker than Norris in P2. Explaining why the team did not swap their drivers to go after Verstappen, Andrea Stella said:
"I don't think it is so clear that Oscar was faster. Lando was trying to get Max's slipstream even closer, but anytime you went below a second there was a significant loss of grip. At this track you need seven, eight tenths of performance advantage in order to be able to overtake." [via motorsports.com]
McLaren have already started building a lead in the Constructors' standings, as they sit at the top with a 36 point gap to second. But after Japan, Lando Norris' Drivers' championship lead has been cut down to just a point, as the Briton now has Max Verstappen breathing down his neck.
