George Russell hopes to see Mercedes F1 progress this weekend thanks to a new floor that the two W15s of him and Lewis Hamilton will use. According to the Briton, the priority is to have a more predictable car.
“We are looking to have a more consistent platform, because we think that is what has trapped Lewis and I several times in the last races. I have some new things on my side, so that is always positive” Russell said.
“We will both be riding on the new floor. We have a small difference in specifications as a test, but it is not an update as such. It is just normal aerodynamic testing.”
“We are confident that the new floor will be at the level of performance we expect, and so we have the new floor on both cars. We therefore hope to be closer to the best. We will see what we can achieve .”
Russell admits that overall, over the season, the W15 has been perhaps the most inconsistent Mercedes in this era of ground effect.
“I think in 2022, in the porpoising era, it was definitely a lot more unpleasant. But because of the nature of these cars, it was a lot harder to get close to the limit because you're jumping literally every corner and you knew it was going to bite you.”
“The problem we have with this car right now is that you think it's not going to bite you, and you can put in a really good lap. And then suddenly nothing changes, or you feel like nothing doesn't change, and the next round you lose all that performance.”
“So this is without a doubt the most inconsistent performance our team has had in history.”
A factor for Mercedes this weekend will be the impact of the new track surface on the tires, with the W15 being very sensitive to this. A very black asphalt should guarantee a hot track.
“The color of the tarmac has an impact, so the darker the color, the higher the temperature.”
“On the other hand, it's a very smooth surface, so the tires will probably be able to heat up more and be penalized less because it's very smooth. That's the theory.”
“But we don't know if it's going to be good or bad for us. Austin is the best example: on Friday, during qualifying, we both fought for pole. On Saturday, during qualifying, Lewis was eliminated in Q1 , I end up in the wall and nothing has changed.”
