Russell Shares Honest Opinion On Whether Mercedes Caught Up With Top 3 Teams

Tuesday, 11 June 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished third during the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, answered whether Mercedes made a significant step forward.

The 26-year-old Mercedes driver scored his team's best Grand Prix result of the season so far by finishing third during the most recent race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

It sounds strange that P3 would be Mercedes's best Grand Prix result after the first nine races of the season, but the German team has really struggled with performance compared to Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari.

Over the last couple of weekends, Silver Arrows introduced some small upgrades at every race, and in Canada, everything seemingly finally came together for them.

Mercedes seemed like the all-around fastest car of the weekend. Consequently, Russell was a bit disappointed after the race (only scoring P3). On the other hand, it might be a positive sign moving forward.

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Did Mercedes really catch up with its rivals? The British driver was asked after the race how much of the performance he thought was track-specific and how much was real progress, and he responded:

"I think Red Bull have struggled a little bit the last couple of races, yet they've still won two of the last three."

"So I expect them to probably take a small step when we go back to the European races on more conventional circuits."

The upcoming race will take place at a track in Barcelona, which is supposed to suit Red Bull. This Grand Prix will show the real difference between the team from Milton Keynes and the rest.

While it is expected Red Bull could have a slight advantage, we haven't seen other teams at this kind of track after introducing their newest upgrades, and they (Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes) might surprise.

Having said that, he expects Red Bull to be stronger; Russell confessed he believes Mercedes finally eliminated the weakness that slowed them down this whole time and made a true step forward.

"But I really think our performance step is true and it's real. And I think we can be in this fight with McLaren. Let's hope we can continue being in the fight with Max. And let's see with Ferrari, they obviously had a bit of an off weekend."