George Russell has defied claims Mercedes’ double podium success at the Spanish Grand Prix was down to finally adopting sidepods on its 2023 car, arguing Red Bull would still be the quickest team in Formula 1 if it ran that concept.
After a below-par start to the year that had yielded only a solitary podium, Mercedes opted to abandon the development direction it had placed faith in since the start of the latest ground effect era last year.
Following the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the German outfit unveiled its revised package in Monaco the week after, including the removal of the highly contentious zero-size sidepods.
Mercedes enjoyed a strong Sunday outing in Spain, with Lewis Hamilton and Russell securing the Brackley-based side’s first double top-three race finish of the year.
However, Russell maintains that the W14’s recent improvement isn’t simply down to bolting more conventional sidepods onto the car.
“It’s not the sidepods what make the difference,” the Brit, who finished third, told Sky Sports. “It may be a factor, but the magic isn’t in the sidepods.
“We brought that design to the car to kind of rule it out, the sidepods. The magic was done underneath the car, on the floor. That’s the same for every single team.”
Along with a change in bodywork, Mercedes also introduced an amended floor and altered front suspension in Monaco.
The Silver Arrows brought further new parts to Barcelona with the addition of a smaller update to the diffuser area.
Despite the raft of upgrades, the lead Mercedes of Hamilton still finished 24.0s behind Max Verstappen, who prolonged Red Bull’s flawless start to 2023.
Russell, therefore, contends that the reigning champions could run the same sidepod configuration Mercedes had used previously and still uphold the fastest car in the field.
“I’m sure Red Bull could put no sidepods on their car and still be the quickest,” he underlined.
“It’s a little bit more complex than that but nevertheless, really happy with the work the team have done and the validation that the steps we’ve made are steps in the right direction.”
With its modified car having delivered on the team’s expectations, Russell reckons that Mercedes’ “sights are on victory” for the remainder of the campaign.
“I definitely had confidence that we could move forward [at Barcelona],” he added. “The race pace was really strong this weekend with these updates.
“I was very disappointed with the qualifying result [12th] but I think it’s proof that you just need to keep on believing. It was a new day, new opportunities out there.
“We ticked all the boxes. The car was fast, good overtakes – a really enjoyable race.”
The Mercedes drivers’ Spanish GP exploits propelled the team above Aston Martin into second position in the Constructors’ Championship for the first time this year.
However, the German manufacturer remains a huge 135 points adrift of Red Bull, who appear on course to comfortably retain both the titles it won last season.
