Russell reveals master plan to defeat McLaren and Verstappen in Zandvoort
F1 News
Despite being the in form team with three wins out of the last four races, Mercedes are not the main protagonists in the 2024 Formula 1 World Champion. The main battle is between Red Bull and McLaren, but George Russell believes that party can be spoilt once again, this time at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Russell will start the Dutch Grand Prix from fourth place in Zandvoort. The Brit felt that he could've been slightly higher up had the tyres been in a better window. Whereas Mercedes' main disappointment was Lewis Hamilton's failure to escape Q2, Russell didn't escape Wolff's brutal view of the situation. The Mercedes team boss also felt more was on the cards than P4.
Russell expects a "good fight with the McLarens" in the race. Lando Norris starts from pole after beating second-placed Max Verstappen by more than three-tenths. But Russell doesn't believe that's the realistic gap. "Realistically, we're maybe half a tenth, a tenth behind McLaren and Red Bull," the Mercedes driver told GPblog and others in the paddock.
But something similar has occurred recently. In Belgium, not many predicted Mercedes' impressive race pace, and Russell draws inspiration from this.
Russell draws inspiration from Belgium ahead of Dutch GP
"But as we've seen, if we get the strategy right, you make a good start, and that can all change very quickly," Russell added. In Belgium, Hamilton made a strong start and could attack pole-sitter Charles Leclerc immediately. Russell then also got himself in the mix with the decision to try a one-stop brave strategy. Eventually though it all went wrong when he was disqualified.
If Russell is to attack McLaren, he will have to do it alone. His teammate Lewis Hamilton will start from 14th on the grid after missing out on Q2 and getting a three-place grid drop for impeding Sergio Perez.