George Russell, third in the World Cup, 9 points behind Lewis Hamilton and 50 behind Kimi Antonelli, the leader still prominent, does grant credit to the threat posed by the arrival of Ferrariafter the victory in Barcelona. Of course, he believes that far from harming him, it can be an element that also helps him to come back even faster to go for the crown.
“It’s great to see Lewis back doing what he does best. That’s also a clear example of how demanding Formula 1 is, because the cars are very complex, the tires are very complex, the power units are complex. Everything has to work perfectly and If something goes wrong, you can’t perform at your best.“, he stated at the press conference in Spielberg.
“People gave it up last year, or even the year we were teammates in 2024. Is it too old? Is this it? Is that it? And then it has been sweeping the last four or five races“Russell pointed out, in clear allusion to Leclerc and Ferrari’s internal struggle.
“This shows that you haven’t forgotten to drive overnight. You need the driver, your team, the set-up, the knowledge of the tyres. Everything has to work perfectly and when it works, you fly. So that’s where he is right now,” says Russell’s partner, who is considered renewed in some media.
“Definitely, It’s a big threat, Ferrari is a huge threat.. Kimi is still the driver leading the race and is performing incredibly and consistently, but Ferrari feels that it is making a comeback and Lewis is at the head of that advance”George states without a hint of doubt.
More nerves for Kimi or Hamilton?
When asked if he put more nervous an internal battle at Mercedes or competing against another teamRussell responded: “Neither of the two It makes me nervous. To be honest, it excites me, because the more people compete face to face, the greater the competition,” he says.
“That’s how it was for all of us, chen we raced karts, you never competed against just one rival. There were three, four, five drivers fighting for victory. This is what Formula 1 should be like, and that’s what excites us, so I’m looking forward to it starting”, he points out about the weekend,
An eight-piece upgrade package fueled Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona, and The Italian team is ready to present its first engine update with ADUO modifications in Austria this weekend. “Without a doubt, I think it is a dose of reality, because Ferrari has had an excellent chassis throughout the season. His power unit was quite behind of ours, but suddenly in Barcelona, it seems that they took a step forward and were much closer to us in terms of straight line speed“, he says and that before the modifications that they are said to have at the Red Bull Ring.
“In addition, they are introducing many new features, which has surprised us quite a bit. We have only made one improvement this season so far. We have some in development, but Ferrari and McLaren introduce new parts to the car every two races. So we have to keep trying. “I think that every time a team introduces new parts to the car, it is taking big steps forward,” the Briton concluded.
