George Russell is hoping that the upgrades Mercedes plans to bring to its Formula 1 car at the next round in Austin will help the team rediscover its competitive edge.
Mercedes sustained an underwhelming Singapore Grand Prix as it was unable to convert a promising second-row lock-out on the grid into a podium result in the race.
Lewis Hamilton, who lined up third, saw his prospects unravel with the ill-timed decision to start on Soft tyres leaving him vulnerable at the end as he dropped to sixth.
However, Russell on the optimal Medium to Hard one-stop was unable to repel Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and then fell into Charles Leclerc‘s clutches in the closing laps.
Russell has conceded that Mercedes’ encouraging pace under one-lap conditions misled the team into believing that a better result was obtainable in race conditions.
“After a very difficult Friday, we would have likely taken P4 in the Grand Prix,” Russell admitted. “Our pace in qualifying, however, made us believe we could achieve more.
“Today was no doubt a difficult race for us, both challenging in terms of our pace but also physically.
“The McLarens were very impressive and in another league to us, whilst Max [Verstappen] had the legs on us.
“We were able to hold off the Ferrari of Charles in the closing stages, so it was very much an evening of damage limitation.
“Given the pace of the car, that was the very best we could have achieved.”
Mercedes set to assess downturn in results
Mercedes has struggled since the 2024 season restarted last month as Russell’s fortuitous podium in Baku remains its sole visit to the rostrum in the past four races.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton vows Mercedes will ‘refocus’ after ‘difficult’ F1 Singapore GP
The German marque looked set to sustain a productive end to the term when Hamilton and Russell combined to register three victories in four races before the break.
But having slipped behind its main rivals since the season resumed, Russell has conceded Mercedes must utilise the three-week gap to understand its latest setback.
“We have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks to understand why we’ve struggled to challenge at the front in the past few races,” he highlighted.
“We haven’t been as competitive since the summer break and that is frustrating.
“We will work hard to get on top of it though and hopefully the updates we bring to the next race in Austin will help us take a step closer to the front.”
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