George Russell revealed that a Mercedes steering issue that dented his chances of pole position for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix resurfaced in the race itself.
The Briton, who qualified in fourth place in Nevada, stormed up to second at lights out, sweeping past Lando Norris for second at Turn 3, after Max Verstappen took the lead.
Russell was forced to eventually settle for third place after Norris breezed past him on Lap 34, having caught the Mercedes after both drivers pitted for fresh tyres.
And with the laps ticking away, Russell complained about a steering issue over the team radio, deja vu from the night before when the W16 suffered a similar issue.
After the race, Russell revealed that it was the exact same issue that had plagued him in qualifying, and began minutes after the race began, prompting him to adapt.
“Well, I had the same steering issue as I had yesterday after about five laps,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“But after probably four laps after the issue, I was managing to drive around it.
“The pace was not bad in the first stint. Obviously made a good start. Probably only a tenth or so slower than Max in that first stint.
“Then after the pit stop, I saw that opportunity to attack and just pushed really hard for two laps, and I destroyed my tyres.
“I knew with about 16 laps to go – or probably 20 – it was going to be very challenging to get to the end.
“So it wasn’t very enjoyable, to be honest, because I just couldn’t get around left-hand corners.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff corroborated Russell’s take, adding that “we need to see also what it was because we changed the parts overnight and it didn’t make a big difference.”
READ MORE – Why Kimi Antonelli was ‘talking to my tyres’ on his way to third F1 podium in the Las Vegas GP
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