Mercedes’ George Russell is delighted with a third-placed finish at 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, amidst management of “brutal” porpoising.
Russell had endured a tricky weekend in Baku, Azerbaijan, as he struggled with porpoising across every session as he fought violent vibrations within his Mercedes car across numerous bumps.
The Brit however fought his way to fifth on the grid and benefitted from race retirements for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, as he battled his way to a comfortable podium finish behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Joking post-race about how tricky it was to drive the car, Russell said: “We were smashing the ground every single corner and every lap for 90 mins, it was pretty brutal – I’ll sleep well tonight!”
Russell though admitted that he has to learn to live with the issue across coming races as he added: “It’s what we’ve got to deal with it at the moment, there’s not much we can do in the short-term. There’s lots of intelligent people, hugely talented engineers in the sport so I’m sure we’ll find a solution.”
The ex Williams driver also felt that his podium wasn’t won “on pure pace” but more on reliability through a combination of the fact that Ferrari’s Sainz and Leclerc both failed to finish and he bettered the midfield runners as Mercedes fought AlphaTauri all race.
Russell also urged fans to have patience with the team as they continue to adapt to the new regulations as he explained: “We know we aren’t quick enough and we’ve got a long way to go to bring performance.
“We’re experimenting and trying things, one week turnaround to Montreal will be tough to find the solution but hopefully we’ll get there soon.”
Mercedes’ Team Principal, Toto Wolff echoed Russell’s thoughts but added that he didn’t enjoy Ferrari’s unreliability, as he instead wanted to watch “… a strong fight at the front and we’re hoping to catch up and join so there’s six of us there fighting.”
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