Russell offers major Mercedes boost despite key problem

George Russell has revealed that Mercedes currently has its best understanding of the current regulations, but it is still trying to find the "magic bullet" needed to catch McLaren.

Mercedes has struggled throughout the current regulations which were introduced at the start of the 2022 F1 season, scoring just five victories. 

Four of those wins came last season, two each for Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Despite this, Mercedes has struggled to understand how to deliver a consistent package and has experimented with various concepts. 

It famously introduced the 'zero pod' concept at the start of the new regulations, which immediately put the Brackley-based outfit on the back foot. 

Now, Russell has revealed that the team has finally managed to get to grips with the ground-effect era, although it is already excited about the new power unit regulations next year. 

Whilst progress has been made by the Silver Arrows, Russell recognises it is not enough to catch McLaren.

"Well, I don't think nailing it [the current rules] is probably the right word because you're nailing it if you're winning every race," Russell told select media, including RacingNews365. 

"But this is the most we've ever understood it, and probably the most confident we've felt within our package, but that's probably the same for the nine other teams, in all honesty, and you're judged based on your lap time. 

"The lap times aren't as competitive as the McLaren. We know their strengths, and they're clearly getting it right and it just seems in Formula 1, when you find that sweet spot, you go through a time where you pull away from the rest of the pack, rather than people closing up to you. 

"And they've found something that, maybe, if there was another year of these regulations, the rest of the teams would work out what that is. 

"But right now, we don't know what that magic bullet is, and I think a lot of teams are just excited for the '26 regulations, where it's just going to be slightly more conventional for everyone."