16/02/2023
NEWS STORY
Though impressed with his first miles in the latest Mercedes contender, George Russell isn't getting carried away.
As has become the tradition with the German team, in the hours following its unveiling the latest Silver Arrow took to the Silverstone track for a shakedown.
"It's been a smooth day, but it's so difficult to say," said the Briton following his 15 km 'demo' run.
"Last year we came away from the shakedown not with too many thoughts to be honest," he continued, "we were so compromised by weather. So you've got to take the results from today with a pinch of salt and make sure there's no major scares and just make sure the car's running ok in Bahrain.
"That's going to be the true test," he added. "As much as we want to get out of a day like today it's kind of meaningless in that regard."
Despite the shortcomings of the appropriately designated W13, which, according to the team, were obvious from the outset, the philosophy behind the 2022 car hasn't been entirely abandoned, with the team carrying over many of its strong points.
However, when asked about bouncing Russell appeared to dodge the issue, responding: "We'll see next week."
Meanwhile, Russell has admitted that at times during his debut season with Mercedes he was guilty of "trying too hard".
"The things that I learned most from were those difficult races, races that, let's say relatively speaking, I failed or underperformed," he said. "Looking back on those races, I would say most of the reasons were from trying too hard. And that was a big lesson I learned, that sometimes the harder you try and the more you push, sometimes the result isn't better.
"You've got to be very disciplined with yourself sometimes in your approach of knowing how hard to push yourself," he continued. "It's the same if you went to the gym every single day and was doing maximum bench presses every single day, at one point you're probably going to injure yourself. It's not the most efficient way to get stronger.
"That's representative of racing. If you go out there and you drive the thing in anger, pushing it beyond the limit every single lap, that is not the fastest way to drive. Those races were probably validation for me.
"I think the great thing with Formula 1 and this sport is it's constantly evolving and it's a new challenge every single year," he said. "There's definitely still room to improve, and I feel that fills me with confidence because I still felt like I performed at a very, very high level. Even though I know that I've got a lot more in my pocket."
The Briton scored the team's only win of the season and its only pole, out-scoring his illustrious teammate by 35 points to finish the season fourth overall.
Asked what areas he need to focus on in his second season at Brackley, he said: "The main one is probably just the tyre management. It's something Lewis is very good at, maximising the stints and getting the most out of the tyres across a stint.
"That year under my belt being team mates with him, seeing some of his traits, it's been really, really beneficial for me. So I feel like I was on quite a steep learning curve in that regard. But still, I feel like I've got a lot more to come."
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