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George Russell believes Mercedes’ pace in the Canadian GP was closer to Red Bull and Ferrari compared to previous races this year. The Briton was confident they would surpass the Haas and Alpine cars in the race but felt they were at threat from Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
Summarizing the Canadian GP's outing to Sky Sports F1, Russell said:
“Ultimately, our race-pace was closer to Ferrari and Red Bull we’ve seen all season, but the inherent performance isn’t there yet. Nevertheless P4, its good points for the team and great to be back on the podium for the team.”
The Mercedes driver was content with his teammate Lewis Hamilton being on the podium and the overall team result of two top-five finishes. Comparing the team's pace to that of Red Bull and Ferrari, George Russell felt Mercedes' race pace in the Canadian GP was the closest to the front runners all season.
While he was confident they could fend off the Alpine and Haas drivers, Leclerc and Perez remained a threat. While the Mexican retired from the race due to a gearbox failure, Leclerc managed to finish behind them in fifth place.
Describing their pace in the race, George Russell said:
“I had total confidence we were able to carve our way past the Haas and Alpines. We were certainly concerned [Charles] Leclerc and Checo [Sergio Perez] would be able to come through and be fortunate to keep them behind us.”
George Russell reveals Mercedes was not porpoising in Canada
The Mercedes driver revealed that the W13 was not porpoising but was bouncing in Canada. Although the German team is able to contain the porpoising phenomenon, running the car at such a low ride height still makes the car bounce as it often hits the ground, creating bottoming.
Hamilton had complained of severe back pain in Azerbaijan due to the bottoming, but in Canada both drivers seemed to have managed a weekend without any injuries.
Explaining their car's performance on the Canadian circuit, Russell said:
“It was definitely bumpy, but we weren’t porpoising, we were just bouncing around a lot, down the straight just hitting the ground. It’ll be a good sleep in tonight for sure.”
George Russell finished in the top five for the ninth consecutive round this season. Mercedes is third in the Constructor Standings and trails Ferrari by 40 points. In the Driver Standings, Hamilton is sixth with 77 points while Russell is fourth with a total of 111 points.
