Russell insists he has 'a lot more in my pocket'

George Russell believes he performed at a very high-level last season during his maiden campaign with Mercedes, but nevertheless the Briton insists he still has "room to improve".

Russell endured a complicated first year with Mercedes due to the aerodynamic issues that weighed on the Brackley squad's performance throughout 2022.

However, from the outset, the 25-year-old kept his head down, focused on extracting the most from his mount and remaining consistent.

Eventually, progress ensued, and in the back half of the season Russell conquered his first Grand Prix win with a commanding display at Interlagos in Brazil.

On the eve of his second campaign with Mercedes, his fifth in F1, Russell feels that his development cycle in F1 is far from over.

"I think the great thing with Formula 1 and this sport is that it’s constantly evolving, and it’s a new challenge every single year," he explained earlier this week at the launch of Mercedes new W14.

"The challenges you face are based with the tyres, based with the car, and every year we have new tyres, new cars.

"Definitely still room to improve, and I feel that fills me with confidence, because I still felt like I performed at a very high level, even though that I know I’ve got a lot more in my pocket."

• Read also: Russell reveals seeking professional help after career ‘low point’

Russell pinpointed tyre management as an area where he'll be seeking gains. But overall, the young man from Kings Lynn highlighted the benefits of having Lewis Hamilton, one of F1's all-time greats, sitting on the other side of the Mercedes garage.

"I think the main one is probably just the tyre management — something I thought Lewis was very good at was maximizing the stints and getting the most out of the tires across a stint," he said.

"That year under my belt being teammates with him, seeing some of his traits, has been really, really beneficial for me. So I feel like I was on quite a steep learning curve in that regard, but still, I feel like I’ve got a lot more to come."

As Mercedes worked tirelessly last season to solve its porpoising issues, Russell suffered a slight mis-summer slump during which Hamilton regained the upper hand.

But in hindsight, the difficult races he experienced during that period were also those from which he learned the most.

"To be honest, the things that I learned most from always were those difficult races and the races that I, relatively speaking, failed or underperformed," he commented.

"Looking back on those races, I would say most of the reasons were from trying too hard, and that was a big lesson I learned — that sometimes, the harder you try and the more you push, sometimes the result isn’t better, and you’ve got to be very disciplined with yourself in your approach of knowing how hard to push yourself.

"It’s the same if you went to the gym every single day and were doing maximum bench press every single day; at one point, you’re probably going to injure yourself, and it’s not the most efficient way to get stronger.

"And that’s representative with racing. If you go out there and drive the thing in anger, pushing it beyond the limit every single lap, that is not the fastest way to drive.

"Those races were validation for me."

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