Many feel that if Mercedes can produce another car capable of fighting for the Championship, their new driver George Russell will be a force to reckon with. Russell has now spoken to F1’s official website regarding his approach to the 2022 season

Link to poll: https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxtkzKQB25tCa0-qwjFg_-MNQhkmfJMNSZ
0:00 - Why George Russell Is Not Thinking About The Championship
1:08 - Fast Feed

I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World:

Why George Russell Is Not Thinking About The Championship

Russell began by responding to whether he is thinking about fighting for the championship

“It’s not even something I’m thinking about, to be honest”

He then spoke about a racing driver’s mindset

“I think it’s quite incredible how racing drivers’ minds work, that when you put the helmet on, doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for a win or, for me for the last few years, fighting at the back of the grid – you always get on with the exact same mindset”

He elaborated with an example

“I had the best example of that in Bahrain when I raced for Mercedes [in 2020]”

“For me, that was just another race, whether I was out in front or starting on the front row, the approach is the same, the mindset is the same”

He signed off by summarizing his approach

“The work you put into the event, post-event, is exactly the same. So, work on the process and worry about everything afterwards”


Fast Feed

Portimao’s circuit director Paulo Pinheiro has confirmed that they “are in talks with the organization of F1 to organize the replacement race” [Correio da Manha]

Pirelli’s head of F1 and car racing Mario Isola explained that “looking at the lap times [from Barcelona], it looks better than expected” [F1]

“We are now only [slightly] slower than last year’s fastest time in the race. I don’t think anyone has really pushed hard yet either”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen questioned “how many times do you get the opportunity to swap, and number one is the best number out there” [Press Release]

“For me it was very straightforward to pick the number one”

His team principal Christian Horner added that “sticking that number one on the car after all the pain that we went through last year, the fight that it was in 2021… it’s just energised everyone in the team”

“You can see a spring in everybody’s step and it gives people confidence as well, which is such an important thing in any sport”

“Which is to not have arrogance, but confidence – and I think that runs through the organisation”

Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti has revealed that the supposed deal with Alfa Romeo “was done. We had a day set up to sign it and, literally two days before, they changed the terms” [Autosport]

“They wanted veto rights on everything all of a sudden – it was horrible”

He added that “Gene Haas wouldn’t sell [the Haas F1 team]. I’ve asked five or six times”

Mercedes' Technical Director Mike Elliott highlighted that Red Bull’s sidepod “looks interesting. We’ll go away and have a think about that” [F1 TV]

“The guys back at the factory have been [looking at other cars and their ideas]”

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko feels that “everyone wants to see the best drivers in the world fighting wheel-to-wheel” [Auto Motor und Sport]

“I think Ferrari could be in there, McLaren [are] looking strong, so you might have a few other candidates”

“And don’t forget George Russell. I mean, he’s going to be a key component in this championship as well”


Will George Russell be a championship contender in 2022?