Last year, Mercedes stuck to its troublesome 2022 concept, which it realised was a mistake as soon as it showed up to winter testing.
The team rallied to finish second in the constructors' championship, but the recalcitrant handling and lack of predictability of the W14 left both Hamilton and Russell struggling for consistency.
Mercedes has appeared at this weekend's Bahrain season-opener with a heavily revised W15, which features much-anticipated design changes as well as a more rearward cockpit position, which was one of Hamilton's requests.
Last year Hamilton said Mercedes didn't listen to him as it decided to carry over its so-called 'zeropod' concept, but according to Russell the team has now granted the seven-time world champion's wishes, which is something Russell supports.
"Lewis and I have put out a huge amount of work into helping steer the team in the direction we want to go," Russell said.
"Obviously with Lewis' experience, the car has been designed around his wishes with the car being sat further rearwards than we were last year, the Red Bull-esque sidepods on the side and a slightly different steering rack.
"So, it's good that the team have sort of been listening to that, but we need to see if that translates into lap time.
"I think we hit the ground in a good place. But ultimately, there's only one thing that matters, and that's the lap time."
Source: Autosport