2025 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Cs98]

What an utterly bizarre comment.

Either way, I think Mercedes could surprise this weekend.

This is the reason : https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/geor ... /10702527/

He is not a 'villain' per se, he is too 'cocky'. That's because in his mind, he is the master of 'mind games'.

A perfectly well balanced and factual statement on why Kimi would be on the same pace as him. I didn't see any problem in that statement. Doesn't come across as cocky, it's actually the contrary.

Russell was asked by Motorsport.com if he feels he needs to be well ahead of his Italian team-mate now that he is alongside a rookie instead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. He explained:

"No, not at all. Kimi's an exceptional driver, and I've said this before, I don't feel any faster today than when I was 18 years old, but I'm far more experienced. In a qualifying situation, if I have traffic on an outlap, I know how to deal with that. If my tyres are cold, if my tyres are hot, I know how to react to those circumstances. I know how to deal with the pressures of this sport as well.

"But in terms of outright pace, I don't think I'm any faster today than I was 9 years ago now. You saw it with [Ollie] Bearman last year. Bearman did an amazing job when he jumped in. [Franco] Colapinto did a great job.

"And the same way as when we all jumped in, it was a bit difficult for me because I was with Williams at the back, but you know, when myself, Lando [Norris], Charles [Leclerc], Max [Verstappen] all came into the sport, straight away we were on the pace, so why wouldn't a guy like Kimi be in the same boat?"

It comes across as insincere, a silly mind game to lower expectations on himself. He should be faster than Kimi, actually no, he NEEDS to be faster than 18 year old rookie Kimi. Confidence + experience = more speed. Speed isn't just "raw talent" as some seem to think, that is only one building block and it's one that both Kimi and George possess.

[Seanspeed]

It comes across as insincere, a silly mind game to lower expectations on himself. He should be faster than Kimi, actually no, he NEEDS to be faster than 18 year old rookie Kimi. Confidence + experience = more speed. Speed isn't just "raw talent" as some seem to think, that is only one building block and it's one that both Kimi and George possess.

He's being complementary to his new teammate, saying he believes in Kimi's ability to be fast. It only comes across as insincere if you really believe Kimi doesn't have the potential to be competitive. But the point is still the same, and he's really not wrong about speed being a raw talent thing(or raw skill thing). How many superstar drivers can you think of that weren't fast right away? I can literally think of NONE. Not a single one. And even of the 'merely good' sort of B-tier drivers, they are also almost always competitive early on in terms of raw pace and not something they grow into with time.

Russell isn't saying he cant beat Kimi or that they'll be equal matches, as he points out specifically where he thinks his experience will give him advantages that still ultimately matter over the course of a weekend and especially season as a whole. But if Kimi is a genuine talent, he might well just be being realistic that Kimi can be competitive on the raw speed front against him, at least to some degree. Much like Russell himself was against Lewis, where he has first hand experience of this kind of situation.

[Cs98]

It comes across as insincere, a silly mind game to lower expectations on himself. He should be faster than Kimi, actually no, he NEEDS to be faster than 18 year old rookie Kimi. Confidence + experience = more speed. Speed isn't just "raw talent" as some seem to think, that is only one building block and it's one that both Kimi and George possess.

He's being complementary to his new teammate, saying he believes in Kimi's ability to be fast. It only comes across as insincere if you really believe Kimi doesn't have the potential to be competitive. But the point is still the same, and he's really not wrong about speed being a raw talent thing(or raw skill thing). How many superstar drivers can you think of that weren't fast right away? I can literally think of NONE. Not a single one. And even of the 'merely good' sort of B-tier drivers, they are also almost always competitive early on in terms of raw pace and not something they grow into with time.

Russell isn't saying he cant beat Kimi or that they'll be equal matches, as he points out specifically where he thinks his experience will give him advantages that still ultimately matter over the course of a weekend and especially season as a whole. But if Kimi is a genuine talent, he might well just be being realistic that Kimi can be competitive on the raw speed front against him, at least to some degree. Much like Russell himself was against Lewis, where he has first hand experience of this kind of situation.

Yeah sure, it could just be him trying to be nice. I suspect it's a bit of both.

As far as talented drivers being fast immediately, it's more complicated. Since this trend started of drivers coming in super young, like Verstappen, Norris, and now Antonelli, there's a clear progression of speed and consistency with time. Yes, Norris and Verstappen were fast immediately, but they are much faster now. I don't see Kimi competing with George over one lap or over a race distance with any consistency, but that is essentially what George is claiming will happen.

[Farnborough]

It may be that GR is ultimately seen to be complacent !

His statement of drivers coming in at competitive pace, may come back to haunt him if KA is really and definitely faster.

Just occasionally, sometimes, someone arrives in a sport and really does shift the boundaries. I'm not making any claim or projection, just sometimes it does happen though. Most of us could name a small selection in F1 or MotoGP which made encumbants redundant overnight.

It would be exciting if that were to happen.

[Seanspeed]

Yeah sure, it could just be him trying to be nice. I suspect it's a bit of both.

As far as talented drivers being fast immediately, it's more complicated. Since this trend started of drivers coming in super young, like Verstappen, Norris, and now Antonelli, there's a clear progression of speed and consistency with time. Yes, Norris and Verstappen were fast immediately, but they are much faster now. I don't see Kimi competing with George over one lap or over a race distance with any consistency, but that is essentially what George is claiming will happen.

I'd say the consistency of speed improves, but the speed is always there from the start. These aren't folks still learning how to drive the best lines or improving basic driving techniques. But yea, just nitpicking at this point.

[TeamKoolGreen]

It may be that GR is ultimately seen to be complacent !

His statement of drivers coming in at competitive pace, may come back to haunt him if KA is really and definitely faster.

Just occasionally, sometimes, someone arrives in a sport and really does shift the boundaries. I'm not making any claim or projection, just sometimes it does happen though. Most of us could name a small selection in F1 or MotoGP which made encumbants redundant overnight.

It would be exciting if that were to happen.

Like a certain driver in 2020 at the Sakhir grand prix who went to the front with ease twice in Hamiltons car ?

Interesting how Hamilton was never offered more than a 1+1 since that day.

[ringo]

I was just about to say how refreshing it is to not see Hamilton's name and the focus be on Kimi and George.
The withdrawal is gonna be tough.
I agree that Kimi can win this race. There is chance and it's not zero. Australia has put many a rookie on the podium.

[Cocles]

I love the movie some of us have made up in our heads that GR is some wannabe Machiavellian mastermind. If GR was eating a ham sandwich they'd say it was part of some pathetic masterplan to get under the skin of his rivals. Anything the guy does, no matter how mundane is twisted into this narrative, which only further shows that this is some conspiracy nonsense living rent free in people's heads. GR isn't turning the frogs gay, but he's certainly turning some of the people on here into Alex Jones.

Not edgy enough? How about this... << mod edit - idiocy removed >>

Let's just be real here. The LH crowd needs GR to stink, because if he doesn't that means LH is actually past his prime and Merc were right to offer the 1+1.

--------------

My hope for this season is to see Merc climb. This is the JA car of this era with all of the, "We're going to need to wait until between seasons." issues addressed. KA has massive potential. GR will be a good team leader, and it'll be fascinating to see him in a top team as the #1 driver like his peers. Bring on F1 2025.

Edit: GR vs. MV this season would be fire. I predict those two are going to smash into each other at least once this season, and it'll be because GR refused to yield. Could you imagine GR smacking MV on the helmet the way he did Bottas, or MV shoving GR the way he did Ocon? Pure F1 porn.

[ringo]

All the LH crowd is in the Ferrari thread or banned so your theory is a bit off. You have the anti-lewis crowd who only supported George 2022 to 2024 when Lewis was his teammate. Now Lewis is gone, they have no reason to like George.
The W16 looks like it's in the mix in George's hands. Melbourne really is not representative of the cars' order. The track is too tight and the surface may not have the same grip level as a permanent track. So let's see if w16 stays near the sharp end right thru to Sunday or if if fades in qualifying like W15 did.

[Lasssept]

Russell: Mercedes "not much quicker" on soft tyre in Melbourne F1 practice

Mercedes struggling to find expected gains between soft and medium F1 tyre compounds in Australian Grand Prix Friday sessions

"It was a really up and down day because every time we had the medium or the hard tyre on, we were right in the top two of the time sheets and every lap felt good, felt confident," Russell said.

"And then we put the soft on, we didn't go much quicker. Clearly there is a bit of pace in the car and it's just getting the most out of the tyre, so we need to understand why that is. Let's see what we can achieve overnight.

"I mean, if the session stopped off with a hard tyre and if the session stopped after the medium tyre and FP1, I'd have said definitely we're there or thereabouts. But obviously you don't qualify under the hard or the medium tyre, you qualify on the soft tyre, and we don't seem so competitive on that one.

"I'm sure we can find some improvements tonight."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/russ ... /10702979/

[Tonino]

Long-run pace looks great, just need to improve the running on the soft tire.

[OverheatedTurbo]

Long-run pace looks great, just need to improve the running on the soft tire.

Long runs looked great. We may have created an SF-24 esque car.

[Lasssept]

[Matt2725]

The hard running suggests they've perhaps already gone towards a setup more suited for wet tracks.

Their race sims looked very strong however, and I think if they can find enough to get one or both in the top 6 in quali, they could compete for a podium.
James Allison seems fairly happy at least.

[Tonino]

Long-run pace looks great, just need to improve the running on the soft tire.

Long runs looked great. We may have created an SF-24 esque car.

I’ll take it. There’s nothing more annoying than starting on pole or in the top three and then dropping like a stone during the race. Let’s see what happens tomorrow, but overall, a solid first day.