Mercedes had to overcome “tension” during 2022 recovery

In brief

Mercedes had to overcome “tension” during 2022 recovery – Russell

Mercedes driver George Russell says the team faced “tension” as they fought to recover from a disappointing start to the season and return to the front of the grid.

The reigning constructors’ champions started the season behind rivals Red Bull and Ferrari as they struggled with porpoising on their car. The team eventually recovered to take a single victory, with Russell, at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Russell said that Mercedes’ efforts to return to the front of the field had led to tense conversations within the team

“I think for sure the dynamic would have been slightly different had we arrived at the first race and had the fastest car on the grid,” Russell said.

“There’s been a huge amount of late nights, throughout this season, a lot of tension at times between drivers, teams, designers with regards to ‘are we on the right track? Do we need to be doing something different? Do we need to be more drastic?’. And these were very difficult conversations, but we came away from them growing closer together.

“We’ve got such great leadership within Mercedes that we are now all pushing in one direction. I truly believe this experience we’ve been through this year will lead to more long term success.”

Verstappen loses Le Mans Virtual podium after pass by Mercedes’ Baldwin

Double Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen just missed out on a podium place in the latest round of the
Le Mans Virtual Series simracing championship, finishing fourth for Team Redline.

Verstappen was running third during the final stint of the 500 Miles of Sebring esports event with Redline team mates Jeffrey Rietveld and Maximilian Benecke when he was caught and overtaken by Mercedes AMG driver James Baldwin. Verstappen finished just under two seconds behind Baldwin at the chequered flag, with the race won by Porsche Coanda drivers Mack Bakkum, Laurin Heinrich and Joshua Rogers.

German F4 championship will not run in 2023

The German Formula 4 championship will not be held in 2023, the ADAC has confirmed, after dwindling entried over recent seasons.

The German ADAC, who have organised the championship announced that it “will not be accepting entries for ADAC Formula 4…