George Russell was the bright spot for Mercedes at the Imola Grand Prix. Where Lewis Hamilton was mainly battling with himself and ended up outside the points, his teammate put in a neat fourth final spot. That performance gives Russell confidence for the future.
The driver joined Mercedes at the beginning of the season as a replacement for Valtteri Bottas. Prior to the first race in Bahrain, it was expected that Russell would have a hard time competing with Hamilton in his first year at the German racing stable, but for now he is doing better in terms of points.
In Imola he managed to get twelve points and just missed the podium. Russell, meanwhile, is hoping that Mercedes will make some quick moves so that he can compete for prizes. "It gives me confidence that when we improve the pace of the car, we’ll be there," he looks at Formula1.com at the result.
Mercedes continues to suffer from porpoising
To achieve that, Mercedes will have to drastically reduce its problems with porpoising. Russell revealed after the race that even his back is bothered by the bouncing of his car. For now, however, a solution at Mercedes seems nowhere near.