George Russell critical of 'fundamental' Mercedes issue after 'Imola disaster'

George Russell believes Mercedes was carrying a "fundamental issue" on his car during an Emilia Romagna GP he described as "disastrous."

From third on the grid, Russell complained of a strange feeling with his W16, reporting in to the team that he felt the rear trackrod was broken such was his lack of pace, following a weird feeling on the way to the grid. 

The Briton initially fell outside of the points thanks to the strategy he was placed on in pitting early after being passed by Lando Norris for third, but eventually recovered to take seventh - his lowest result of the season. 

Throughout 2024, Mercedes developed a trend of being fast in cooler conditions before dropping away in hotter ones, with Russell believing that trait has not be rectified in the W16 as he felt Mercedes' troubles were hit by other teams, such as Ferrari and Williams having strong races.

"It was very odd, and on the laps to the grid, I was reporting problems with the car, the team had a good look around and saw nothing, but that feeling continued for 60 odd laps," Russell explained to media including RacingNews365. 

"We had zero pace, and when it is hot, we are nowhere, and when it is cold, we are quick. It was the trend last year, and the same this year. 

"It felt like my rear wheels were moving, there was nothing obvious standing out, but even in a straight line, the car was moving and the tyres were through the roof, so we have a bit of a fundamental [issue]. 

"It is either the fronts are overheating, or the rears are from circuit to circuit, but it is not the first time we've reported that, and it was the first time all of our rivals had a semi-decent race.

"The fact is, every team has a disastrous race weekend at some point. This is our first one of the season, Red Bull had one in Bahrain. 

"So I'm not very happy, but the car isn't going to be in podium positions week in, week out, but there are no excuses. It is the reality of F1 where you've got all these different tracks, tyre compounds, temperatures, but it was definitely underwhelming."