“Yeah, why not?": George Russell optimistic of fighting Red Bull with his Mercedes 'W14B'

George Russell is optimistic about the upgraded version of the Mercedes challenger W14, referred to as the W14B, which will be introduced later in the season. The Briton is hopeful that the upgraded car will be able to compete with runaway leaders Red Bull.

Mercedes have endured a disappointing start to the 2023 season, despite lofty expectations from the W14. After the first few races, team principal Toto Wolff revealed that there will be major changes to the car later into the season.

George Russell recently stated that there is not much that the team can do until their new upgrades are introduced, and after that, they could turn out to be quite competitive. He said:

"We won't give up, we will keep pushing. Right now we have to wait, we will have to reassess the situation when we bring the updates we are waiting for and put them on the car."

"Only the first time we go out on track will we know if they will work as we expect and if we can fight with the Red Bulls. But yeah, why not?"

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Red Bull 'a class above everyone' according to George Russell despite Mercedes' pace in Australia

The Australian Grand Prix weekend was much better for Mercedes than the start of the season. George Russell took the lead after starting P2, before unfortunately retiring early due to an engine issue. However, Lewis Hamilton still managed to bring in the team's first podium of the season by finishing right behind Max Verstappen, the winner of the race.

This showed that Mercedes had indeed gained some pace against Red Bull, but George Russell feels that there is a significant gap between them and the top team. Russell said (via Motorsport):

"I still think Red Bull are still a class above everyone else and looking at qualifying in Melbourne, according to Max [Verstappen] Red Bull still had something in their pocket in terms of performance."

"In Melbourne we took 3 tenths from the RB19s, and that's not much. Usually they're a second ahead. But at that time they were 3 tenths faster than us. It's still a huge gap in the world of Formula 1."

The Mercedes W14 could see a change in their side-pod design. The 'zero pod' design that the team introduced last year has been the subject of widespread criticism.

However, most upgrades won't be introduced before the Grand Prix in Imola, Italy. Ferrari are also expected to introduce a design change to their SF-23, which has had a tough start to the season as well.