The German manufacturer is undergoing an encouraging spell of form thanks to a floor upgrade that has helped Lewis Hamilton finish runner-up at the last two races, although he was subsequently disqualified from the United States GP.
That form bears some similarities to last year, though, when Mercedes enjoyed some strong promise in these same races – which included victory for Russell in the Brazilian GP.
With Mercedes having failed to build on its 2022 momentum as it worked on its current W14 car, there remains a bit of caution about the team’s ultimate potential with its all-new design for 2024.
But Russell thinks that the team is in a very different situation right now compared to 12 months ago, especially as it has understood what went wrong with the design of its 2023 challenger.
“What has caught us out this year stemmed from the winter development,” he said ahead of the Brazilian GP. “We took the wrong direction. We made some mistakes.
“That was evident as soon as we hit the track in Bahrain. So, going into the third year now, I'm confident we're not going to make those same mistakes.”
Source: Autosport