Russell on new car development: 'There can always be a curveball'

George Russell is confident he will perform even better in his second year at Mercedes than in his first. Speaking to GPBlog and others in a press conference, Russell compared himself to his teammate and looked at the development of this year's car compared to that of 2022.

During the car's unveiling, Russell was asked how he sees his relationship with teammate Lewis Hamilton. Although Russell was the only one of the Mercedes duo to win a race last season, he does not yet think he is better than Hamilton now.

"The great thing with F1 is that it constantly evolves," Russell explained. "It's a new challenge every year. There's still room to improve and that fills me with confidence. I felt like I performed at a high level even though I know I've got a lot more in my pocket. The main one is tyre management. I think something Lewis is very good at maximizing the stints and getting the most out of the tyres across a stint. That year under my belt seeing some of his traits has been really beneficial for me."

'In the end, we won't know until the first day of testing'

"Lewis and I do have similar driving styles with our uniqueness," Russell continued. "We do have a range of set-up options that don't compromise the development of the car. We could be in two very different places with set-up but in terms of overall development, we are pushing in the same direction."

Car development has been a thorny issue for Mercedes, though. The team completely missed the mark in 2022, leading the previously dominant team to win just one race last year. "I am confident that we have done the most we possibly can with the information we learnt last year. As we learnt last year, there are sometimes curveballs. Are we going to get another one thrown at us? Who knows. Ultimately, we will only know once we've done that first test. Probably not even then."