George Russell is hopeful that Mercedes will make a “small jump” forward at next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix through their highly-anticipated upgrades.
The new components were introduced in Monaco this weekend after they were originally set to debut at the cancelled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Mercedes arrived at Monaco with major revisions to its sidepods, floor and suspension, which have been in the works for several months.
Russell warned ahead of the Monaco event that the knowledge gained of the new parts would be limited due to the unique layout of the circuit – but hopes to see more of an improvement in Barcelona next week.
“There’s definitely no scares with this new update,” Russell said. “Things working as expected.
“No real concerns. We brought a lot to the car, aero package, new suspension and all working as expected.
“I see no reason why in Barcelona it won’t perform as we expected and we’ll hopefully make a small jump.
“But equally I think Aston Martin has brought some upgrades as well and naturally the whole field moves forward.”
Russell ended Saturday’s qualifying session from Monaco in eighth place, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton classified in sixth.
Having held the upper hand on Hamilton throughout the weekend up to that point, Russell says that he paid the price in Q3 for overdriving the car.
“[There was] definitely more there,” he said. “Q1 and Q2 were looking reasonably promising, so close to Ferrari and Fernando [Alonso].
“I pushed for more and paid the price. Ultimately went slower than the potential.
“Kicking myself a little bit because of that. But I would have been equally disappointed had I just been a tenth behind and not try that little bit extra.
“[It’s the] price you pay sometimes, can’t get it right every time. For sure now a little bit disappointed.”
