Russell highlights his Mercedes' main weakness after Jeddah

What if George Russell was actually the true revelation of this early season? Amidst the many rookies and the fine performances in the midfield, Russell shines above all with his ability to never fail, even in the most challenging situations.

Fifth at the end of Sunday's race in Saudi Arabia, the driver Mercedes equaled his worst performance of the season, if one can call it that. Starting third, the former teammate of Lewis Hamilton spoke of his experience, and appears lucid about the shortcomings of his car to hope to aim higher.

"Tonight it all came down to the tires and unfortunately ours were suffering from overheating, he lamented after the race. I was pushing hard to stay in the wake of Verstappen at the start of the second stint, but it quickly became clear that we would not be able to maintain the pace."

Russell points out temperature problem

This recurring problem of excessive temperature has not only been manifesting in the Silver Arrows' tires since last season. Often, the car overheats in the most extreme conditions, even producing excessive heat inside the driver's seat. Given this handicap, George Russell's race management was not made any easier.

"We know that tire overheating is a weakness of our car at the moment. Everyone is focused on improving this area, commented the Briton, far from being fatalistic. We have to accept being fifth on a bad day."

At the end of this grueling triple-header for all teams, the driver wearing the number 63 still made a strong impression. Forced to struggle with electronics issues late in the race in Bahrain, the Briton still finished his race in second place. Struggling with excessive tire degradation in Jeddah, he finished his race in fifth place.

Fourth overall, George Russell is only 14 points behind Max Verstappen, and gives hope of regularly playing the role of troublemaker at the top of the standings.

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