Mr. Consistency George Russell had to endure back and chest pain due to Mercedes' porpoising issues

George Russell revealed that he had to endure back and chest pain due to Mercedes' porpoising issues.

The Mercedes W13 struggled to maintain downforce on the straights, noticeably bouncing as aerodynamic ground effects went and came — especially in the first half of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

While other F1 teams were also suffering from the phenomenon, it was not as bad as Mercedes. Explaining the issue to the media after the Italian GP, George Russell had said:

"When the car and tyres are in the right window the car, except for the bouncing, feels really good to drive. But the bouncing really takes your breath away. It's the most extreme I've ever felt it. I really hope we find a solution and I hope every team who's struggling with the bouncing finds a solution because it's not sustainable for the drivers to continue with this level."

He continued:

"This is the first weekend where I've been truly struggling with my back and like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing. But it's just what we have to do get the fastest lap times out of the car."

The Briton had a good 2022 despite Mercedes not being nearly as good as they have been in the past few years. Russell, who is also known as F1's Mr. Consistent, will be looking forward to another successful year with the team and his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

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"That's just absolutely not going to happen" - George Russell knows he can't beat Lewis Hamilton every single session

George Russell finished the 2022 season ahead of teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. But despite this, he is being realistic about his chances against Hamilton in the future.

Speaking to The Race last month, about his battle with his teammates, the 24-year-old stressed the importance of tempering his expectations when it came to competing with Hamilton.

He said:

"I didn't worry, but I did have to sort of have a sitdown with myself. I was sort of used to a certain level of outscoring [past teammates], or whatever you want to call it, but if it's 55/45 in my favour, even if I lose 45 per cent of the time, that's going to still be incredibly successful against Lewis. So psychologically, you need to set yourself up for small failures."

George Russell also said that it would be impossible for him to beat Hamilton every session. He added:

"I'm not going to beat him every single session, every qualifying, every race. That's just absolutely not going to happen. But having a year like we've had this year, is almost equivalent to maybe what the 95/5 split was for me previously. I never doubted myself. I always believed in myself. But if you go with the mindset 'I'm going to beat Lewis Hamilton 95 per cent of the time', you're going to come away disappointed."

Russell finished fourth in the drivers' standings in 2022, 35 points and two spots ahead of Hamilton.