George Russell misses the boat again

George Russell is having a paradoxical 2023 season to say the least. After an excellent 2022 campaign where he was ahead of Lewis Hamilton in points and was the only driver Mercedes to take a pole position (Hungary) and win (Sprint and GP in Brazil), the 25-year-old is encountering more difficulties this year.

The raw performance is still there, but a series of setbacks, errors (contact with the wall in Singapore), and twists of fate (clash with Hamilton in Qatar) have relegated him to 8th in the Drivers' championship, five places and 58 points behind his illustrious teammate.

The bill should be even steeper since Russell only finished 7th at the last United States Grand Prix, before being promoted to 5th position following the disqualifications of Charles Leclerc and especially Hamilton, who had initially finished on the podium (2nd).

« The story of my season is missed opportunities, whispered Russell Sunday evening in Texas, in comments reported by Race fans.

I was in trouble from the start after getting off to a bad start (three places lost. Editor’s note). When we put on the Durs, I no longer had any rhythm. I then had to manage fuel consumption and take care of the engine. We were then shooting within one second of the reference times.

And then we took up a game of Mediums and we were the fastest car on the track. It's frustrating not to be on the podium, I tell myself that it's another missed opportunity. »

Russell also confessed that he had never been very comfortable at the Circuit of the Americas, unlike Hamilton, a five-time winner in Texas. The young Briton preferred to retain the progress seen with the development introduced on the W14 in the United States.

« It probably exceeded my expectations, confided Russell. It's really exciting for next year. (...) So things are going in the right direction. »