F1 News: George Russell Reveals Return Of Dreaded Trait To W15
George Russell, amid praising Mercedes’s 2024 contender, the W15, disclosed encountering bouncing issues during Bahrain testing, hinting at potential challenges for the team. Despite this, Russell remains optimistic about the car’s overall performance.
Key Takeaways:
- Russell praises Mercedes’s 2024 car, the W15, and expresses confidence in its aggressive setup.
- Bouncing issues and insufficient downforce surfaced during Bahrain testing, highlighting areas for improvement.
- Despite challenges, Russell sees the W15 as a significant advancement over its predecessors, fostering optimism for performance enhancements.
In pre-season testing at Bahrain, George Russell provided insights into Mercedes’s 2024 challenger, the W15, unveiling both admiration and concern. While lauding the car’s overall transformation, Russell pointed out a recurring issue – bouncing, reminiscent of challenges faced in the team’s ground-effect era cars. Acknowledging the novelty of the W15’s design, Russell emphasized the necessity for adaptation in setup approaches, particularly to tackle the bouncing issue, ensuring it doesn’t impede performance or reliability.
Russell’s remarks to the press illuminated the complexities underlying the W15’s development:
“I would say this year’s car is a totally different race car.”
“To the point that the things we learned from last year in the way we were setting the car up, we will need to approach it differently this year. So, there’s a lot to learn about this.”
Despite the bouncing concern, Russell commended the W15 for offering a more authentic racing experience, enabling the team to adopt a more aggressive setup. He expressed confidence in the car’s potential but stressed the imperative of swift progress in enhancing its on-track performance. With an eye on the upcoming races, including the challenging circuit of Jeddah, Russell remains hopeful for the W15’s evolution, banking on its improved platform to deliver notable performance gains over its predecessors.
