Mercedes F1 star reveals frustrations over major team failure

George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Singapore, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Mercedes F1 star reveals frustrations over major team failure

Mercedes have suffered a slump in form despite showing signs of progress prior to the summer break

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 1 October 2024 11:57

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One of Mercedes' star drivers has opened up on how a significant failure on the part of his team has created frustration within the camp.

The Brackley-based outfit currently sit fourth in the Formula 1 constructors' championship, having endured an up-and-down campaign to date.

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Neither George Russell or Lewis Hamilton appeared capable of challenging at the top of the order during the opening months of 2024, but the pair enjoyed a surprise upturn in form ahead of the summer break.

Lewis Hamilton secured an emotional victory at the British Grand Prix

George Russell's second victory of his career came in Austria this year

What's gone wrong at Mercedes?

The former secured his second victory in the sport during a dramatic Austrian Grand Prix back in June, before his team-mate followed that up with an emotional triumph at Silverstone one week later.

Russell suffered heartbreak in Belgium after seeing another win ripped from his grasp following a post-race disqualification, but Hamilton's promotion to P1 made it three wins from four for the Silver Arrows going into the mid-season interval.

However, the team have failed to build on that progress since, with Russell's third-place finish in Azerbaijan - coming as a result of a late collision between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez - the team's only appearance on the podium since returning to action.

Now, Russell has admitted their recent form has left everyone at Mercedes scratching their heads.

George Russell has been perplexed by his team's drop-off in performance

With less than three weeks to go until the next outing in Austin, the Brit hopes the team can use that time wisely to find out what's been going wrong.

“We have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks to understand why we’ve struggled to challenge at the front in the past few races,” he said, as reported by Motorsport Week.

“We haven’t been as competitive since the summer break and that is frustrating.

“We will work hard to get on top of it though and hopefully the updates we bring to the next race in Austin will help us take a step closer to the front.”