George Russell feels Mercedes has turned a corner with the development of its 2025 car, sidestepping the traps that derailed previous seasons.
Mercedes has faced a challenging journey since the introduction of F1’s ground-effect era in 2022.
The team’s struggles began with the notorious porpoising issues that derailed its competitiveness for much of 2022 and beyond.
While progress was made in 2024, including two race wins for both Russell and Lewis Hamilton, inconsistency across different circuits kept the Silver Arrows from challenging the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull in F1’s Constructors’ standings.
Speaking at the F1 75 launch in London on Tuesday, Russell explained how he believes that a more forward-thinking and disciplined strategy has put Mercedes in a stronger position than before.
"I'm much more confident we're not going to fall into a trap as we have in the previous years," Russell said.
"The last couple of years we've been so focused on solving the problem, we weren't looking ahead to what future issues it would cause. It's like you solve one thing and then it creates a new problem.
"So, we've been forward-thinking much more than we have done in the past."
A More Disciplined Development Approach
The Mercedes team has worked hard to adopt a more holistic approach to car development, ensuring that solutions to one problem don’t inadvertently create others.
Russell highlighted how this philosophy has been especially crucial in aerodynamic development.
"That's quite normal in the world, like aerodynamics; when you're changing how it's going to handle and make the front stronger, it's going to take away from the rear,” he explained.
“And if you go too far, that's just as much of a problem," he explained.
"I think there's really been a thorough understanding of: 'These are the fundamental changes we're going to make. We think it's going to do X, is that going to be a problem at these races? And if so, how are we going to drive around it?'"
This meticulous and anticipative attention to detail has been supported by increased reliance on simulator work to ensure no stone is left unturned.
A ‘Reasonable Step’ Forward
While Russell remains cautious about predicting how Mercedes will stack up against the competition, he’s encouraged by the steps the team has taken so far.
"It's going to be a significant change this year," Russell said. "To be honest, we say every year we've uncovered a problem, we've solved it, and it's created a new one.
"We've probably been a lot more disciplined with every change that we've made, and being more thorough than ever in terms of the simulator running, just to ensure we're not going to fall into a new trap.
“So far, it's a reasonable step. Obviously we have no idea what everyone else is doing, and it's going to be quite an interesting season with how people deploy the resource between 2025 and 2026."
As F1 teams face the dual challenge of improving their 2025 cars while preparing for the all-new regulations in 2026, Russell’s confidence in Mercedes’ approach is a promising sign.
The team appears to have learned from past mistakes, adopting a more measured and disciplined strategy to avoid the traps that derailed their momentum in previous years.
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