Russell: Fundamental issue left Mercedes ‘dead slow’ in Imola GP

George Russell offered a starkly honest assessment of Mercedes’ underwhelming performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix where the Briton finished a disappointing seventh.

The Briton was quick to reject the idea that circumstances or bad luck had played a role in his lowly finish at Imola.

Instead, Russell pointed to a fundamental flaw in the team’s car that continues to be exposed whenever track temperatures rise – a long-standing issue the Silver Arrows have yet to solve.

While Russell managed to salvage P7, his rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire, capping off a frustrating weekend for the Brackley-based squad.

A Blunt Assessment

Russell’s post-race comments to Sky Sports F1 were as candid as they were cutting.

“No, we were definitely not [with] bad luck, we were just dead slow,” he admitted.

Sunday’s race in the Emilia Romagna countryside exposed once again a key weakness in the W16 — a difficulty to perform in hot conditions.

The team has been wrestling with the issue since last season, making setup changes in an attempt to adapt, but without meaningful progress.

“I mean the trends are pretty clear, when it's hot we're slow, when it's cold we're quick, and that was the same last year,” Russell explained.

“We've been doing everything with the set-up to try and find solutions, but there's clearly something more fundamental in the car.”

The Mercedes driver didn’t hold back in his comparison with rival teams, admitting that on pace alone, Mercedes were struggling to even beat midfield runners like Williams.

• Read also: Team Talk - Sunday in Imola

“It's not the first race of the season where we've been slower than Ferrari, and even slower than Williams, or the same pace as Williams, but we've just somehow managed to get a result out of it on these occasions.

“But today, we were very lucky to finish P7, in all honesty.”

Car Issues Felt From the Start

Russell said he knew something wasn’t right before the lights even went out. During the reconnaissance laps to the grid, he noticed an unusual issue with the car and immediately radioed his team.

“It was very odd. I mean on the laps to the grid I was reporting problems with the car and I thought something was wrong. The team had a good look around and saw nothing and that feeling continued for 60-odd laps after,” he said.

The Mercedes driver pointed to persistent tyre temperature issues as a possible explanation, acknowledging the challenge has been track-dependent and long-running.

“We do have a bit of a fundamental [issue] because either the fronts are overheating, or the rears are overheating, circuit to circuit. But it's not the first time we've reported that.

“So it was probably just the first time where all of our rivals probably had a semi-decent race.”

As the European leg of the Formula 1 season continues, Russell’s analysis underscores growing frustration within Mercedes. Unless a breakthrough is found, the team may struggle to mount a meaningful challenge to the front-runners – especially when the sun shines.

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