Russell Doesn't Think Anyone Knows How to Approach Las Vegas Race Because Of One Main Problem

Sunday, 19 November 2023 at 12:00

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George Russell reflected on the Qualifying session after finishing in P4 and shared one main concern for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix race.

As opposed to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, George Russell was able to extract a lot more from his Mercedes F1 car and managed to score a P4 during Saturday's Qualification at Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

The Las Vegas Strip Circuit was expected to suit mainly the teams that perform well with lower-downforce setups like Ferrari or Williams. Russell shared he did not expect the track to suit Mercedes. As quoted by motorsport.com, he said:

“"Happy with the result. I felt confident around this circuit. We weren't expecting to be this competitive coming into this weekend."”

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The 25-year-old will move up one position after Carlos Sainz drops ten places for the start of the race because of the penalty he received for changing power units. However, Russell shared the grid position was not his major concern this weekend.

“"But to be honest, as strange as it sounds I wasn't too concerned about where we qualified today, as long as we were in the top 10."”

The biggest concern for the Mercedes driver is graining. Graining occurs when the rubber on the tires of an F1 car starts breaking down and forming small chunks on the tire surface.

Graining reduces the tires' contact area with the track, resulting in less grip. What happens then is that drivers might slide in the corners. Consequently, they lose time and might suffer from even higher tire wear. Russell said:

“"Because it is the biggest unknown of the season going into the race tomorrow, we saw huge amounts of graining on all teams."”

The British driver expects a "disaster" in the race's first five laps. While Russell said he is not sure how to approach it, he suggested nobody actually knows.

“"Because we've got no support series, no nothing. The track's going be a disaster in the first five laps of the race. Right now, I'm really unsure how we need to approach it. And I don't think anyone knows."”