George Russell has admitted he and Mercedes are not getting carried with the performance of their upgrades despite finishing third in Sunday’s 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.
With a new Mercedes upgrade package being utilised adequately in Barcelona, Russell managed to move up the order finishing third after starting from 12th, and even managed to hold off a late challenge from Checo Perez in the Red Bull.
“After yesterday, we knew it was going to be a challenge,” Russell said to select members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “But I woke up with more positivity and thought we can move forward, probably P5 – P6.
“I thought P3 was a bit out of reach. But the car was great today the team did a great job with the strategy, and it was [a] satisfying race, making some good moves on people around me.
“Huge thanks to the whole team for bringing these updates forward, but we’re not going to get carried away just after one race. Because we know it may be slightly different in future races.”
Mercedes car feeling the best it’s been for sometime
With cooler conditions shaking up the grid for the 2023 Spanish GP, Russell and Mercedes capitalised on others’ misfortunes and maximised the Pirelli tyre’s performance.
Barcelona marked a turnaround in fortunes from the start of 2023 when Mercedes struggled with its tyres, losing ground to Aston Martin and Red Bull.
“We go to so many different circuits, the car naturally feels strong at many of these new circuits with new tarma,” said Russell. “When you go to a track like [Barcelona or Bahrain], there’s a lot of tyre degradation.
“Today, it probably felt the best it’s ever felt around Barcelona because of the cooler conditions and [in] this season, [it’s] probably the best it’s felt the most together.
“The work Mick [Schumacher] and the simulator team are doing overnight, they were there till well past midnight to help us with the setup and get it [us] a good window for [the] race.
“We are making strides in the right direction. We just need to make sure we hit the ground running next year because I think we, as a team, probably develop faster than anybody else.”
