Russell hit with steering woes again en route to Vegas P2

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George Russell left the Las Vegas Strip with a second-place finish – but also with sore arms, frayed nerves, and a lingering sense of what might have been.

The Mercedes driver revealed after the race that a stubborn steering issue, first seen in qualifying, returned almost immediately in last Saturday’s Grand Prix and weighed heavily on his performance.

Starting fourth, Russell fought his way into podium contention on merit, before Lando Norris’ disqualification later promoted him to P2. But beneath the result was a physical and mental battle that began just minutes into the race.

A Race-Long Fight With the Wheel

Russell explained that the problem struck early and stayed with him.

“I had the steering problem again from about lap five, the same as I did in qualifying," he said. "I managed to drive around this and I got used to the challenges of this problem, and the pace looked quite good in stint one.”

©Mercedes

The comfort didn’t last. As Max Verstappen exited the pits during Russell’s second stint, the Mercedes driver sensed an opportunity to attack – but his tyres had other ideas.

“Then, at the start of my second stint when Max Verstappen came out of the pits, I was like ‘right, I’m going to attack now’ to see if I could take the lead, and I grained my tyres, the front-right tyre.

“I said to the team ‘I don’t think I’m going to make it to the end on this tyre’, but they were confident considering the gap.”

What followed was a slow bleed of grip, pace, and comfort.

“But every lap was so painful. I was going slower, and slower, and slower, and I was like ‘this is not fun.’ P3 was the maximum today, but other than lap 1, it just wasn’t an enjoyable race.”

Consistency Over Fireworks

Given Russell’s triumph under the Vegas lights last year, many had tipped him as a contender to repeat the feat. But this time, the car’s consistency – not its fireworks – was the real takeaway.

©Mercedes

“I think if you just take the average of this season – if you look at Singapore last year, we were terrible and we won this year, last year we were dominant in Vegas and we finished on the podium [this year],” Russell reflected.

“We’ve got a car that is better across 24 races, whereas last year, we had a car that was either exceptionally dominant or terrible.

“So we have a better car for a 24-race season. Unfortunately, we may not get as many highlights, but we get more points in a season.”

It wasn’t the sparkling Vegas victory he enjoyed in 2024 – but given the circumstances, Russell’s gritty podium may turn out to be just as valuable in Mercedes’ bigger-picture campaign.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.