2026 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

[Waz]

Russell said that he was half a second faster and lost half of it during lifting. Is that the case? I noticed that he had 1 tenth in total after S1 and S2 on his last lap over Leclerc. Where did he find 4 more tenths in such a short S3 that consist of one small straight before the yellow flag? Unless he kept all the battery for that one straight which is hard to believe as he would need it for the first part I find it hard to believe there wasnt something fishy here.

Mercedes W17 was otherworldly in S3 but here was George’s accounting:

“The lap was unbelievable. I don't know where it came from. I went through Turn 1 a tenth and a half quicker; in the second and third, I gained another tenth and a half; by Turn 4 I was already four and a half tenths ahead, then five tenths, five and a half tenths."

"Then, I saw a yellow flag, a simple yellow. I thought: 'Wow.’ So I eased off the throttle quite a bit. When I got to the middle of the corner, I saw the green flag. I didn't even get to see the car; it was way off the track. I lost a lot of time on that lap. I'd have loved to have completed that lap, because I think it would have ended up three or four tenths further ahead. It was just one of those laps where it feels like the car's on rails."

He basically described the replays we saw. That he lifted quite a bit to go around the corner.

[avantman]

Russell said that he was half a second faster and lost half of it during lifting. Is that the case? I noticed that he had 1 tenth in total after S1 and S2 on his last lap over Leclerc. Where did he find 4 more tenths in such a short S3 that consist of one small straight before the yellow flag? Unless he kept all the battery for that one straight which is hard to believe as he would need it for the first part I find it hard to believe there wasnt something fishy here.

Mercedes W17 was otherworldly in S3 but here was George’s accounting:

“The lap was unbelievable. I don't know where it came from. I went through Turn 1 a tenth and a half quicker; in the second and third, I gained another tenth and a half; by Turn 4 I was already four and a half tenths ahead, then five tenths, five and a half tenths."
H
"Then, I saw a yellow flag, a simple yellow. I thought: 'Wow.’ So I eased off the throttle quite a bit. When I got to the middle of the corner, I saw the green flag. I didn't even get to see the car; it was way off the track. I lost a lot of time on that lap. I'd have loved to have completed that lap, because I think it would have ended up three or four tenths further ahead. It was just one of those laps where it feels like the car's on rails."

He lost a tenth at very most on that lift.

He basically described the replays we saw. That he lifted quite a bit to go around the corner.

[zibby43]

Another quick but important clarification: When George is referencing being "up" XYZ tenths over the course of a lap, this is in the context of his own reference lap. They have no idea from their read out what anyone else is doing.

[SB15]

Anyone else find it worrying that George mentioned "when everything's in the right window"... that car isn't on a knife edge... Idk to me fairplay to him but he has to remember that races are won on Sunday (unless you're in Monaco)

[nitrotech]

Mercedes W17 was otherworldly in S3 but here was George’s accounting:

“The lap was unbelievable. I don't know where it came from. I went through Turn 1 a tenth and a half quicker; in the second and third, I gained another tenth and a half; by Turn 4 I was already four and a half tenths ahead, then five tenths, five and a half tenths."
H
"Then, I saw a yellow flag, a simple yellow. I thought: 'Wow.’ So I eased off the throttle quite a bit. When I got to the middle of the corner, I saw the green flag. I didn't even get to see the car; it was way off the track. I lost a lot of time on that lap. I'd have loved to have completed that lap, because I think it would have ended up three or four tenths further ahead. It was just one of those laps where it feels like the car's on rails."

He lost a tenth at very most on that lift.

How exactly do you know that? Experience or you have the data that is only available to tye team?

[nitrotech]

Anyone else find it worrying that George mentioned "when everything's in the right window"... that car isn't on a knife edge... Idk to me fairplay to him but he has to remember that races are won on Sunday (unless you're in Monaco)

A rookie with barely a year's experience drives a car and out of the box the car goes well. Great traction, good grip and great tyre life. When was the last time a rookie got such performance in pirelli era? While on the other hand, his more senior partner in the team struggles in all of those areas, who happened to wipe the floor last year with that rookie team mate. Who also happened to drove far more difficult cars and got got great results for 4 years. He still thrashes his junior team mate in qualifying. Suddenly, balance goes for toss on Sundays and that happens almost every Sunday and he is unable to sort it for almost half a season, which wasn't the case for the past 4 years. That entirely adds up.