The British in the first year with the Mercedes F1: “It’s the perfect time to arrive. On par with Lewis? His hunger is incredible, I will have to learn by thinking about the next 3-4 years”. First laps on the W13, but wind and rain made the shakedown difficult
First day of life of the Mercedes W13 and first “official” day for George Russell alongside the car he will drive in the 2022 F1 World Championship. The 24-year-old British – who grew up in the Mercedes youth program – was the first to hit the track on the newborn creature, for a shakedown tormented by rain and a very strong wind that swept Silverstone. The arrival in the team of Lewis Hamilton after three seasons of apprenticeship at Williams, however, is a very precious milestone for Russell: “I arrive at the perfect moment”, he said at the first official press conference as a driver in Stuttgart.
hamilton model
–
For Russell, the proximity of a seven-time world champion is both an advantage and a disadvantage. So many opportunities to learn, so many occasions when confrontation could be frustrating. It could, although Russell’s talent showed in Williams and the 2020 Sakhir GP – when the 24-year-old replaced Lewis positive for Covid – seems to guarantee in favor of the young driver. Who sees it like this: “Lewis Hamilton is an inspiration, a model. It is incredible how despite everything he has won he is never satisfied. I will have incredible opportunities to learn from him. Getting to Mercedes has always been my goal. since I’ve been in the Junior program, “he continued,” and now I’m lucky enough to have the best as a companion. ” But what will be the values in the Bahrain GP, given Hamilton’s winter full of doubts: “I believe that he will reach the GP 100%. Each driver has his own way of preparing, but I cannot steal his way of racing from Lewis training, every driver has his own and the same method may not be suitable for everyone. If I expect to be on par with Hamilton right away? It’s simply not my priority: I have to learn to develop the car and gain experience thinking in the next few years, 2-3-4 years. The goal is to develop the car, hoping that the W13 will be as fast as the previous Mercedes, but we cannot be sure of course. “
russell … before russell
–
“If I realized that I am in Mercedes? It is not something I think about, I am the same as before to the extent that I try to improve myself. But I sleep, I eat, I laugh as before. It is not something that changes overnight, it’s a process I’ve been preparing for in the past few years. I’m here now, “Russell explained. Then he answered a question about himself as a young man: “I would say to myself to follow your instinct. An advantage to join Mercedes with the new rules? I don’t think it’s that important, I think the ability of a team to react counts more. and improve. I do not think that 2022 cars will change the way we drive in a radical way, I am instead convinced that the ability to improve the car will be decisive. Look at 2021: Red Bull was the best car in the World Championship, but Mercedes has had the ability to upset the equilibrium in the last few races. Here, I believe that in 2022, even looking at the huge differences between the cars presented so far, there could be even more radical developments in my opinion during the season. I arrive at Mercedes at the moment perfect for me “.
f1, var and beyond
–
His final thoughts are for the Abu Dhabi GP 2021 and its consequences: “I know of the insults to Latifi, my former Williams teammate, and I’m sorry. People in front of a keyboard feel entitled to tell everyone everything, forgetting that we are human. In F1 you are wrong, in F1 there are accidents, there are no threats and insults to a driver. The introduction of the Var in 2022? For me it is a great idea, it is right to use modern technologies to help the Race Direction to make the most correct decisions in the shortest possible time “.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED