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Mercedes driver George Russell believes his Silver Arrows team has been left with a “good problem” to fix for their W14 Formula 1 car.
The Brackley team are under pressure as the team tries to recover from a dismal 2022 campaign ruined by porpoising. The constant issues with the W13 left the Silver Arrows finishing third in the constructors’ championship.
Not only did the porpoising affect the performance of the car, it caused pain to both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell with the relentless bouncing. The most notable race was in Baku where Hamilton struggled to climb out of his Mercedes W13 car after the race.
Despite the disappointing start to the season, the Brackley outfit significantly improved their car towards the end of the season. The team managed to achieve a one-two finish at the penultimate race in Sao Paulo, giving Russell his maiden Formula 1 victory.
Initial feedback on the Mercedes W14
Feedback from both Mercedes driver has indicated that the W14 car’s balance is not great. However, it is believed that the issues are a lot easier to solve compared to 2022.
Russell gave more emphasis on why the car’s balance is still wayward. The Briton says that the car struggles the most in the mid-corner phase. He expanded on his point saying that the car loses grip due to the tyres being overworked, leading to hotter temperatures.
Russell was asked by Motorsport.com whether the W14 is a more predictable car than last year’s challenger. The 24-year-old responded:
“The entry phase has been improved.”
“I think it’s no secret when you’re watching the onboard videos that we are struggling a little bit with the balance, struggling a lot in the mid-corner.
“But I think it’s a balance that is probably easier to solve than what we had last year. So even though there’s still a limitation, let’s say it’s a good problem to have.”
Russell says that the feeling of the car is a “step in the right direction”. The Mercedes driver expanded on his point saying that “alarm bells were ringing” with all of the porpoising encountered last year.
“Things have been running much smoother, reliability has been strong so far. For sure, we’ve got things we need to improve with the car.
“But, generally speaking, we are where we would have expected to be at this time of year.”
Mercedes to become frontrunners once again?
Russell has downplayed their chances of winning the season-opening race in Bahrain. However, the Briton does expect to give a fight to Red Bull throughout the season.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also is aware of the balance issues of the car. The German says that “tyre marks” are left in the acceleration phase.
The Mercedes boss describes it as “concerning” as the drivers are “not overdriving the tyres or pushing it”. Instead, Wolf says it is the car not giving enough grip from the rear of the car.
Therefore, Wolff acknowledges that it is something the team needs to “sort out” as a priority during the testing days.
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Feature Image Credit: Mark Thomson via Getty Images