George Russell, British driver of Mercedes AMG F1, is confident that he is not facing the same challenges as his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Australian Grand Prix. Despite Mercedes’ optimism with their new car for the 2024 season, they have had their worst start to a campaign since 2012. However, Russell believes that the team’s difficulties in high-speed corners are expected at the Albert Park Circuit, where there are many medium and high-speed corners. He acknowledges that there is work to be done, but remains hopeful as there is still fierce competition behind Red Bull.
Hamilton, on the other hand, had a tough session in FP2 and expressed frustration with the setup changes that went wrong. While he is dealing with inconsistent performance and confidence in his car, Russell states that he has not experienced the same fluctuations. He is relatively satisfied with how his car is behaving, despite the lack of performance. Despite the challenges, Russell managed to qualify in seventh place and believes there is still a lot at stake in the race, although tire degradation is a factor.
The choice of Pirelli to bring its more fragile tire options to Australia has sparked anticipation among the drivers that the 58-lap race will require two pit stops. Teams have decided to stick with their more durable tire compounds for the grand prix, and Russell believes this could make the race exciting, with little use of the C3 tire. When asked about the uncertainties of the tires available this weekend, Russell expressed his excitement, stating that all teams have saved two sets of the harder tires and no one has completed a lap with them yet. He also mentioned the durability of the C2 tire in the previous race and expressed curiosity about the performance of the harder tire this year. Russell also criticized Pirelli’s softer compound, stating that it is too unpredictable for teams to understand, citing fluctuations in lap times among teams in the last season’s Mexican Grand Prix. He noted that the competition is fierce among the four teams, excluding Red Bull.
