George Russell has said a change in Mercedes' setup focus has helped him regain his form after a difficult period for the Briton. Russell has only a single podium finish to his name in 2023, having finished third at the Spanish Grand Prix, and the Briton has notably toiled in qualifying sessions which have then compromised his races, with a nadir coming in Hungary where he lined up a lowly 18th on the grid. However, Russell noted that a change in setup direction before the Dutch Grand Prix had paid dividends, with the Briton qualifying a competitive third at Zandvoort, though problems in the race meant he finished only 17th.
"The loss of performance, in my head at least, has maybe been through a loss of confidence," Russell told media including RacingNews365. "I definitely took a step back in qualifying performance, but if anything, my race pace had been as strong as ever. "My race pace this season has really been one of my strengths, and it's something I'm really pleased about, because the qualifying pace, if anything, is the most straightforward part. "It's just balls-to-the-wall, drive as fast as you can over one lap. "What we've concluded is that we've been going wrong setup direction in the recent few races, and that's been compromising my confidence and the qualifying performance, and we perhaps put too much emphasis on the race pace. "Now that the grid is so compact, in the past, if you're one-tenth or two-tenths off in qualifying, it may have been one grid position. Now it's five or six. "A number of these factors have hindered me on a Saturday, but that's why I was so happy at Zandvoort, because we changed the approach, put full focus on qualifying, on regaining my confidence, and after five laps back in the car, I felt like I got my mojo back."
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