George Russell Reveals Transformed Mercedes Approach In Post-Lewis Hamilton Era

As Formula 1 approaches the last season of the ground effect era, Mercedes driver George Russell has revealed his team's fresh approach to dealing with aerodynamic challenges. The shift in approach coincides with Lewis Hamilton's departure from the team to join Ferrari this year. Russell believes Mercedes has developed a forward-thinking approach to problem-solving, ensuring that solutions do not create new issues down the line.

Mercedes struggled considerably in the current era of regulations that began in 2022, bringing an end to its championship streak and preventing the team from securing race victories. Mercedes' F1 cars struggled with porpoising and handling issues in 2022 and 2023, and any attempt to resolve aerodynamic problems often led to new issues elsewhere on the cars.

It was only in the previous season that the Brackley outfit managed to get the car to perform at its best, but only on circuits where the temperature remained low. While this was a step forward in the right direction, as Mercedes won four Grands Prix, the team still struggled on other circuits and lost crucial points in the championship. However, Russell believes things will be different for Mercedes from the 2025 season. He told the media at the F1 75 launch event in London:

"I'm much more confident we're not going to fall into a trap as we have them in the previous years.

"The last couple of years we've been so focused on solving the problem, we weren't looking ahead to what future issues it would cause. It's like you solve one thing and then it creates a new problem.

"So, we've been forward-thinking much more than we have done it in the past. That's quite normal in the world, like aerodynamics; when you're changing how it's going to handle and make the front stronger, it's going to take away from the rear. And if you go too far, that's just as much as of a problem.

"I think there's really been a thorough understanding of: 'These are the fundamental changes we're going to make. We think it's going to do X, is that going to be a problem at these races? And if so, how are we going to drive around it?'"

The 27-year-old driver added that Mercedes has taken concrete steps to ensure it isn't going to see a repeat of its older challenges, especially since it will have to split resources sometime this year in developing the 2026 car, the year when F1 enters a new era of regulations. Russell said:

"It's going to be a significant change this year. To be honest, we say every year we've uncovered a problem, we've solved it, and it's created a new one.

"We've probably been a lot more disciplined with every change that we've made, and being more thorough than ever in terms of the simulator running, just to ensure we're not going to fall into a new trap. So far, it's a reasonable step. Obviously we have no idea what everyone else is doing, and it's going to be quite an interesting season with how people deploy the resource between 2025 and 2026."