George Russell admits that his Mercedes Formula 1 team can currently only target P5 “on a good day” and is generally only the fourth best team in the field.
Russell finished the Miami GP in eighth place, losing out to the VCARB of Yuki Tsunoda, having complained about a lack of grip at various stages during the race.
His team mate Lewis Hamilton only fared a little better, earning sixth place after starting on the hard tyres.
“Something didn’t quite feel right with the car,” said Russell when asked about his race by this writer. “I just had no grip, no pace. I was slower than Yuki for the whole last stint. So just need to go and see what was going on.
“I don’t really know to be honest, it’s swings and roundabouts for us at the moment. On a good day we’re P5 and on a bad day we’re P8. Today was a bad day, and we finished P8.”
Russell insisted that Lando Norris’s victory indicated that teams can make progress through upgrades.
“McLaren qualified P17 and 18 12 months ago in Miami, and today they won,” he said. “So it shows what’s possible when you get things right. But right now we don’t have things right, and we need to make changes quick.”
Asked if there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Mercedes he said: “There’s definitely direction.
“And we do have a few things coming in the short term, but nothing that’s going to transform us into race winners right now.
“I think we have to accept that we are the fourth fastest team at the moment, the lap times don’t lie, the championship doesn’t lie. This is where we are.
“And as I said, I think we’re fighting for the P5 to P8 region, week-in, week-out now.”
Adam Cooper F1 