Russell's fighting hard for Mercedes: "Most physical race I've experienced"

George Russell has moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship standings after Russell finished in P5. The Jeddah circuit did not favour the Mercedes car, that is considerably down on top speed. Russell hopes baby steps of development move into bigger leaps in the coming weeks. 

Top speed

Ever since the start of pre-season testing in Barcelona, Mercedes have struggled with porpoising. As a result, Mercedes have to raise the ride height and therefore limit top speed down the straights. On the Jeddah circuit, this is not an ideal set-up. Still, Russell sees the positives. 

"That was the maximum today, enjoyable race considering I was all by myself pushing as hard as I could. Probably the most physical race I've experienced in F1, cool to experience because that's what it's all about on a mega circuit like this. But I want to be doing this for victories not P5," Russell told Sky Sports. 

Russell believes the car felt good, but was lacking the grip to be able to advance. The Brit had a quiet race and hopes his team can make the required improvements before the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks time. "We're still a second behind Red Bull. Baby steps, we need to make some bigger leaps, I'm sure we will do it but on the timeline, I don't know," he added.