Mercedes taking inspiration from the cars of Lewis Hamilton's dominant era according to George Russell

George Russell has revealed that Mercedes are looking back to the cars of Lewis Hamilton's days of dominance in order to improve themselves for the next season.

The dominant force in F1 during the turbo hybrid era, Mercedes has found itself facing new challenges in the 2022 season after the rule reset. Red Bull Racing and their ace driver Max Verstappen have taken control at the front of the pack, leaving the Silver Arrows striving to recapture their former glory.

In a bid to regain their supremacy, Mercedes driver George Russell has disclosed that the team is drawing inspiration from the cars of Lewis Hamilton's dominant era.

Having secured eight consecutive Constructors' Championships during the turbo hybrid era, Mercedes enjoyed an unprecedented run of success with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel.

With the summer break providing a moment for reflection, Mercedes is looking ahead to the 2024 season and realizing that substantial improvements are necessary to challenge Red Bull's dominance.

George Russell shed light on the team's approach to bridge the gap. He emphasized that the team is investing considerable effort in fine-tuning the characteristics of their future challenger and said (via PlanetF1):

“It definitely can be tweaked. I think we’re working really hard on the characteristics for next year. We’re looking a lot at how the previous generations of cars were for Mercedes during the glory years and using that as a bit of inspiration, as clearly that was one of the best cars in history, so that’s given us some pointers of where we need to try and aim for.”

The 2024 season is bound to be a pivotal year for Mercedes, as they seek to reclaim their status as the frontrunners in F1.

George Russell reflects on challenging weekend as 'bouncing' issues persist with Lewis Hamilton

The Belgian Grand Prix proved to be a challenging outing for Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team, as they grappled with setup issues that affected their performance throughout the weekend.

As they crossed the finish line, both Hamilton and his teammate George Russell expressed their frustration over the persisting problem of "bouncing."

Russell felt he was 'boxed in' at the start of the race, which led to him losing places early on. The British driver admitted that the team's direction with the car setup had not yielded the desired results.

"I think this weekend validated probably the direction we've taken the setup in recent races hasn't been the right one," Russell revealed to media outlets, including Sportskeeda, after the race.

The issue of bouncing, which refers to the car experiencing oscillations and instability on the track, was a significant concern for both Mercedes drivers during the Belgian GP. Russell highlighted that their car suffered from a substantial amount of bouncing, an issue that several other teams faced to varying degrees. He said:

"Still obviously a bit of a shame to see that as a sport. At the pinnacle, the majority of teams are still struggling with bouncing. I hope something can be solved in that regard in the future."

Despite the difficulties Lewis Hamilton and George Russell faced at the Belgian GP, both drivers managed to salvage crucial points for the team, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.