George Russell has joined Lewis Hamilton in voicing frustration over the inconsistent performance of the Mercedes W15 as the team prepares for the final races of the 2024 F1 season.
Russell’s comments come in light of Hamilton’s recent criticisms particularly following a disappointing outing at the São Paulo Grand Prix where he described the car as “the worst I’ve ever driven.”
The situation has drawn significant attention, especially with the seven time world champion’s impending move to Ferrari for the 2025 season which has led to speculation about his commitment to the team as he transitions to the Scuderia.
During a recent podcast appearance, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner weighed in on the situation at Mercedes and suggested that Hamilton’s complaints about the car are influenced by his knowledge that he will soon be leaving the team.
Steiner noted that with only three races left in Hamilton’s tenure at Mercedes, it is “easier to complain” about the car’s performance but for George Russell it might be better off keeping his criticisms under wraps.
“The car is what it is. It’s not the best car, it’s the fourth best car at the moment on a good day,” Steiner said on the Red Flag podcast. “I think Lewis knowing that he’s leaving anyway, it’s easier to complain.
“George has got all the interest to do to whatever is there to show that he’s the leader of the team for the future. He has to prove that, because he knows that when his Mercedes contract is up, his seat is not 100 per-cent safe so he just tries to do his best, puts everything into it.
“And on the other side, Lewis doesn’t like the car and how it drives, knows that now in three races he’s not there anymore.”
However, amid speculation George Russell proceeded to echo Lewis Hamilton’s sentiments, openly revealing that both drivers have struggled with the car’s handling and performance throughout the season.
“It’s something we’ve not spoken about at all to be honest,” Russell said. “I’ve been with this team for so so long, I’m managed by Mercedes, and we’ve always said we will be continuing together for the indefinite future.
“There’s a lot of conversations going on which are quite entertaining to read, but from my side, I’m not focused on any of that. I’m just focused on my driving.”
While Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about his dissatisfaction, George Russell also highlighted consistency and reliability issues that have plagued Mercedes this year. He pointed out that despite moments of promise, such as their three race wins earlier in the season, the team’s overall performance has not met expectations.
“I think in 2022, in the sort of porpoising era, without doubt that was far more unpleasant,” he said. “But because of the nature of those cars, it was far harder to get close to the limit because you were literally jumping around every single corner, and you knew that it was going to bite you.
“The problem we’ve got with this car at the moment is you think it’s not going to bite you, and you can achieve a really great lap. Then, suddenly nothing changes, or you feel nothing changes, and the following lap you lose all of that performance.
“Without a doubt this is probably the most inconsistent our performance has been as a team in probably forever.”
Mercedes had a great run of success prior to the summer break, winning three out of four races.
However, after the break the team has only managed a single podium finish and has fallen to fourth place in the constructors standings while Russell and Hamilton have fallen to sixth and seventh place in the F1 Driver standings, respectively.
