George Russell admits ‘dead slow’ Mercedes need fix for fundamental weakness
George Russell laments Mercedes' race-day struggles after slumping to a disappointing P7 at Imola.
George Russell admits Mercedes need solutions to resolve the biggest weakness plaguing their 2025 F1 car after a difficult Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Briton was unable to convert a brilliant qualifying lap for third on the grid into another podium finish after losing out on strategy and lacking race pace as he slipped to seventh in Sunday’s 63-lap race at Imola.
A disappointing afternoon for Mercedes was compounded by Bologna native Kimi Antonelli being forced to retire from his first home F1 race after encountering a throttle issue.
Hot races have proved to be Mercedes’ Achilles’ heel so far this year and Russell acknowledged the team have a fundamental problem with their W16 that needs addressing to avoid similar struggles down the line.
"We were just dead slow,” Russell bemoaned after the race.
"The trends are pretty clear. When it's hot, we're slow. When it's cold, we're quick, That was the same last year.
"We've been doing everything with the setup to try and find solutions, but there's clearly something more fundamental in the car.
"It's not the first race for this season where we've been slower than Ferrari, even slower or the same pace as Williams, but we've just somehow managed to get a result out of it on these occasions.
"But today we were very lucky to finish P7 in all honesty.”
The ‘most challenging Sunday’ Russell can remember
Russell, who has lost ground in the championship battle after claiming four podiums across the opening six races of the season, said it is imperative that Mercedes find a cure.
"I wouldn't say we are running out of ideas to solve the tyres, but as I said, it's sort of baked into the car,” he explained.
"You look at Ferrari a few years ago, they used to be mega quick in qualifying and slow in the race. Now they've kind of done a U-turn, and they also don't really understand why that is.
"So we need to find a better compromise, especially ahead of the next race. We're approaching summer and it doesn't really bode well for us. We need to think quick."
Russell went on to label the race as Mercedes’ “most challenging Sunday we’ve had in as long as I can remember” in a post on social media.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
