George Russell manages P2 despite an onslaught of technical issues at the F1 Bahrain GP. Russell managed his soft tyres to the finish line just seven-tenths ahead of Lando Norris in his McLaren who finished P3. The British driver’s Mercedes had a combination of mechanical malfunctions that affected the data on his steering wheel, and nearly landed him a penalty due to issues with his DRS.
Technical drama and a bold tyre strategy move brought on a fight with Lando Norris
There were significant technical difficulties on the international broadcast of the Bahrain GP affecting the graphic that displays the running order. During these technical difficulties, Russell was running in a somewhat comfortable P2 behind Oscar Piastri when the broadcast graphic made it appeared as though Russell had dropped down the field into P20.
After this glitch, F1 TV’s timing and scoring channel failed to show accurate intervals from Russell to the drivers before and after him. It seems as though Russell lacked this information as well, losing the data that would typically be available to him on his steering wheel. Russell shared his experience with these technical difficulties, as well as a brake issue in a post-race press conference following the Bahrain GP.
“Yeah, it was exceptionally difficult towards the end. I had all sorts of problems with the car. The steering wheel, I was losing all my data and the brake pedal went into a failure mode. So I had to do all these resets and, you know, one minute the brakes were working properly, the next they weren’t.”
The British driver still struggled with these technical issues following the safety car on lap 32. During the safety car, Russell pitted for new soft compound tyres, while both McLaren cars pitted for the medium compounds. The soft compound tyres were a gamble for Russell and his Mercedes team. They lasted only ~10 laps in the opening stint, and the race had well over 20 laps to go.
With his technical issues persisting and his soft compound tyres barely holding on at the end of an extended stint, Norris closed in on the Mercedes driver. By placing his car perfectly in the typical overtake zones of the Bahrain International Circuit, Russell managed to keep Norris at bay long enough to hold onto P2 at the checkered flag on lap 57. Russell expressed the relief he felt when he crossed the finish line after this dramatic battle in his press conference.
“I was pretty pleased when I saw the chequered flag, to be honest.”
An issue with Russell’s DRS causes the FIA to conduct an investigation
Russell’s timing system was an issue in the Bahrain GP, causing him to need to override his car’s DRS deployment at the careful direction of his race engineer, Marcus Dudley. The British driver’s DRS engaged at the incorrect time, which caught the attention of the stewards. Russell was noted for a “DRS Infringement” around lap 52, threatening Russell’s P2 finish.
Russell asserted in his press conference that he did not gain from this DRS engagement when asked about this alleged DRS infringement before the official ruling was released. The deployment lasted less than a second and he slowed down immediately.
“I don’t really know how that happened. It was something to do with all these failures that were happening. As soon as I saw it open, I backed off. I lost two tenths of a second and it never happened again throughout.”
Russell made it clear that this was not intentional, but instead a malfunction to do with his steering wheel issues.
“I didn’t actually click the DRS button. I clicked another button and it opened. And as I said, I lost a lot more than [I gained]. I don’t think I even gained anything because it was open for less than a second.”
The FIA’s investigation revealed that while the deployment caused him to gain 0.02 seconds, his compensation for the accidental deployment cost him 0.28 seconds at the next turn. The FIA deemed that Russell did not gain a sporting advantage, so he was able to hold onto his P2 finish.
George Russell was “surprised” by the Mercedes’s pace at the F1 Bahrain GP
George Russell has had a lot of success in his Mercedes so far this season, earning back-to-back podiums in Australia and China and a P5 finish in Japan. The pace of the McLarens this weekend in Bahrain has been undeniable. However, Russell was also consistently quick throughout FP2, FP3, and qualifying after rookie Frederik Vesti took over his Mercedes in FP1.
The 3-time race winner may not have challenged Piastri too intensely for the win, but his defence against the McLaren of Lando Norris was a massive achievement for the potential they were displaying all weekend. The Mercedes driver expressed his surprise at his success in qualifying and the race in his press conference.
“We did not expect to be anywhere close to McLaren. This weekend, qualifying on the front row was a real surprise. And then seeing Lando right up there on lap one behind me, I thought, you know, he’s going to fly off into the distance here. And, you know, Oscar did an amazing job to control the race, but to keep Lando at bay, I was really, really pleased about.”
The Mercedes car has shown itself as a strong contender in cooler temperatures like in rounds two and three in China and Japan. Bahrain’s weather conditions caused a significant lack of grip in FP1 and FP3, especially, which challenged a lot of teams. Russell reflects on how Mercedes approached the Bahrain GP as a test of sorts that the car responded well to.
“This was the real sort of test for us. We knew that our car likes the cold conditions and the competitiveness we showed in China and Suzuka was no major surprise, but this was going to be the question mark here in Bahrain. And we’ve had another strong weekend, so it bodes well for the season.”
George Russell believes the McLarens are firmly the ones to beat at this point in the season
When asked whether the fight is between his Mercedes team and the McLarens at this point Russell disagreed, citing the almost untouchable speed of the car thus far.
“I mean, I’d love to say so, but I don’t think we are, to be honest. McLaren are just too dominant right now.”
The Bahrain GP outing was an overwhelming success for the Papaya team, with Piastri navigating tough track conditions through the weekend with ease. Russell believes that they have displayed their true potential this weekend, with their “worst” performances so far coming in the past two races.
“I think this is probably going to be their peak performance. What we saw this weekend in Bahrain and what we saw in China and Suzuka is probably their worst-case scenario. And they still obviously got one victory from those two races.”
During this period of McLaren dominance, Russell has still managed to pick up some serious points. The focus for the British driver, at this rate, is to continue chasing the maximum amount of points possible, extracting the most he can from this Mercedes car.
“We’ve got to keep on picking up, picking up the points, picking up the pieces. And this weekend, we picked up the pieces to get a P2, and we did it in Melbourne as well to get the P3. I don’t expect this to continue for many races to come, but yeah, who knows?”
