George Russell revealed that he almost missed his shot at victory in the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix by using an old engine from his Mercedes allocation.
Russell was unmatched in Sin City as he converted pole position into a romping victory at the floodlit Las Vegas Strip circuit.
]Mercedes‘ pace was so strong in fact, that Russell’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton came through from 10th on the grid to complete a one-two finish for the Brackley-based F1 outfit.
However, so convinced was Russell that his car would be strongest in Qatar during the season-ending triple header, that he wanted to take his freshest Mercedes engine out of the W15 in Vegas.
“I think we’ve got a good shot in Qatar, to be honest,” Russell said after his Las Vegas victory.
“Going into this triple header, I had my sights set on Qatar, even to the point that I wanted to take my freshest engine out and put an old engine in for Vegas, to save my best engine for Qatar.
“And I’m kind of glad we didn’t do that now.”
Given how imperative straight-line speed is in Vegas, an old power unit no doubt would have scuppered Russell’s chances at securing victory.
Russell exclaimed that the Mercedes team wasn’t quit prepared to be as dominant as it was in Vegas, saying “It’s been a real surprise seeing how strong our pace has been.”
Lewis Hamilton unsure of Mercedes’ chances in Qatar
On the other side of the Mercedes picture, second-placed Hamilton wasn’t quite so sure what the Qatar GP will throw up for the team.
Last year certainly went well for the Silver Arrows in qualifying, with Russell and Hamilton starting second and third on the grid respectively.
That came slightly undone when the pair clashed in the first corner at lights out a year ago, with Hamilton being dumped out of the race.
Russell, however, fought from the back of the field to finish a more than respectable fourth.
But in 2024, the Qatar GP has moved from October to December, temperatures will be cooler and the ever-changing F1 form book will be at play.
“I don’t think anyone in the team knows why we were as quick as we were this weekend [in Vegas],” said Hamilton.
“And everyone will be happy about it. But I think often in the hotter conditions, we struggle more.
“Maybe Qatar is not so bad because it’s a little bit cooler there. And the track is very smooth. So maybe we’ll not be too bad at that track.
“I think we were OK there last year. Abu Dhabi, maybe less so. But we’ll see.”
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