With 275 points on the whole, which culminated in a P4 in the end, George Russell was among the most noticeable performers of the 2022 Formula 1 season. Implicit in his efforts for Mercedes this year was the most triumphant performance of his career as on date.
Which one?
Well, you needn’t be Crofty or Mr. Brundle to crack that one!
For someone whose first experience of driving an F1 car was back in 2015, the 2022 season would’ve meant ever so much since it gave George Russell his maiden Grand Prix victory.
There are wins, there are special wins and then there are races like the 2022 Sao Paulo-bound Brazilian Grand Prix, where the newcomer to Mercedes drove like a pro to take home an unbelievable moment.
Surely, to the Mercedes critics or haters, and the latter could be from the Red Bull camp, the events that took place on November 13, 2022 weren’t all that great. But then from the perspective of the ever-smiling young man from King’s Lynn, the win at the Brazilian Grand Prix was no lame feat.
Even as the pole position belonged to Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, such an incredible feat and of which there’s little doubt, that George Russell clinched the fastest lap as well as the top step of the podium was something to savour.
All of which does pop up a question worth considering:
Just imagine what might have been the plight of the team also fondly called the Silver Arrows had they failed to win a single Formula 1 Grand Prix this year?
With Sir Lewis Hamilton not winning a single race this year in a result that’s slightly baffling to many, if not all, it’s largely thanks to George Russell’s efforts that the Toto-led side roared akin to a Wolff! Well, at least, at Brazil- isn’t it?
That said, what according to the former Williams F1 driver should the 2023 Mercedes Formula 1 car not have as a feature? In other words, is there something about the forthcoming season’s car that George Russell wouldn’t simply like?
All of that said, the following inputs surfaced very recently on a leading publication on Motorsports. They clearly capture the space of mind of George Russell, who’s undoubtedly, among the finest talents to have embraced the top flight of Motor Racing from Great Britain:
W13, was even porpoising through turns, which significantly increased the entire lap times. Russell expects this issue or “feature” will not transfer to the vehicle for the following year. The 24-year-old claimed that, in his opinion, more porpoising in the corners does not speed up lap times as was the case in Abu Dhabi. Although they attempted to control porpoising in the corners due to the back of the car bouncing around and just sliding the tire, you need to drive the vehicle to its limit.
Having said that, the following insights with regards to Mercedes were published by the revered Economic Times of India and its worthwhile to look at them:
When contrasted with the W12 and W11 of the 2021 and 2020 seasons, respectively, the W13 has been one of Mercedes’ most miniature successful vehicles. At the 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, George Russell won his first F1 race.