George Russell emphasizes the divergence in set-up strategies between himself and Lewis Hamilton during the recent racing weekend, noting that despite the differences, both approaches yielded comparable lap times and performance.
He underscores the necessity for intensive analysis and adjustments at the team’s headquarters. Following the conclusion of the Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton candidly admitted to an error in judgment regarding his chosen set-up direction.
Contrary to Hamilton’s focus on refining the set-up, Russell advocates for prioritizing the enhancement of the car’s downforce capabilities.
He asserts, “We’ve had two different set-ups this weekend, both of which produced very similar lap times and performance. This assertion underscores his belief that a shift in focus towards augmenting downforce would yield more substantial gains for the team.
“So, the work needs to be back at the factory and ultimately in F1. The more downforce you have, the faster you’ll go. The set-up is the cherry on the cake.
“I think there is no silver bullet. We just need to keep on adding performance and focusing on the basics, which is in the wind tunnel and in the CFD: just adding downforce. Maybe sometimes it’s as simple as that.”
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton have already disclosed that Mercedes will be introducing some upgrades for the upcoming race in Miami. George Russell expresses optimism that these enhancements will offer the team the crucial progression it requires.
“I think we’ve understood enough so far that we just need to add downforce. We’ve changed philosophies and we’ve changed concepts quite a few times now over the last two years.
“My personal view is that no matter what concept you’re on, you just need to have as much downforce as possible, and you’ll deal with the limitations thereafter.
“So yeah, let’s see in Miami. We’ve got some upgrades coming to the car. Let’s see what we can do with that,” Russell finalized.
