"Lewis is still struggling" - George Russell on claims that new upgrades are the reason for his loss in form

George Russell recently claimed that Lewis Hamilton struggled with his performance despite the new upgrades on the Mercedes W14. The Briton, however, felt that his own performance has not been deterred by the upgrades.

Russell expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the car operated at some circuits. He admitted there was a hydraulic problem in the sprint shoot-out that compromised his performance but feels he is yet to get into the groove.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, George Russell said:

"I don’t think so. It’s just one of those things, you sort of [get] a bit of a groove, a bit of a rhythm. Lewis is still struggling a lot with the car. I think it’s just more that I’ve taken a bit of a step backwards. [I’ve] got some ideas why that is but it’s fine details."

"It’s been a tricky few races for me personally, not feeling super happy with the car – especially yesterday," Russell continued.

Looking forward to the British GP weekend, Russell feels the Silverstone circuit could be a fresh start for him. The 25-year-old was outperformed by his teammate for four consecutive weekends and he hasn’t been able to regain his mojo since.

"Today was a much more positive day – it was obviously a bit of a shame we didn’t get a chance to progress in [the sprint shootout] with the [hydraulic] problem we had – but [I’m] looking forward to Silverstone already to start a full weekend, fresh start, go again and try and get some form back," Russell added.

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George Russell believes qualifying performance tends to be Mercedes’ weakness

Mercedes W14 has lacked consistency in their qualifying performances so far in 2023. Despite agreeing to it, George Russell believes they manage to make up for their losses on Race Day.

He feels their car lacked the required tyre performance when compared to rivals Ferrari, who took a step forward in Austria and were able to match Red Bull.

Explaining their performance deficit at the Austrian weekend, George Russell said:

“It’s especially in qualifying. It’s just getting those tyres in the right window. We see it with Haas and Williams week in, week out – they just manage to get switched on and get the tyres in the right window. We obviously excel on a Sunday. But you see how challenging it is."

"Look at Ferrari today: they were half a tenth off pole yesterday, eight tenths off pole today [and] the only thing that’s changed is the weather, so it shows the fine margins that all of us are working with," he continued. "The tyres are the only thing on the car that we don’t make ourselves, and you’re given a product and you can’t even take that product back home with you to analyse or do your own testing with, so it’s [a case of]: ‘Here’s what you’ve got and deal with it’.

"If we could take that tyre home and chop it up and [the] brilliant engineers would then probably be able to understand it more, but obviously Pirelli believe that’s their secret recipe and want to keep hold of it. It makes it interesting, but it’s equally very frustrating for everyone.”

George Russell hasn't been at his best in 2023 and he currently sits seventh in the championship standings and is 34 points behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Russell managed to outperform Hamilton for the first time at the Austrian weekend after the latter was handed track violation penalties.

Mercedes are closely trailed by Aston Martin in the constructor’s championship, who have three points behind at 175. From the trend at the Austrian GP, Mercedes are facing stiffer competition from their customer teams than rivals like Ferrari or Red Bull. Both Aston Martin and McLaren were able to finish higher up in the race, despite race performance being their strong point.

The Brackley squad are reported to bring updates to the Silverstone circuit and are eagerly looking forward to the British GP.