George Russell believes Mercedes have a “reasonable shot” of winning the Mexico City Grand Prix.
That might not sound like the most overwhelming level of confidence, but in the context of a season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull have taken almost total control of, it is really saying something.
This has been a difficult year for Mercedes. With just three rounds to go, they are still to win a race. This could be their best chance yet – just a week after Lewis Hamilton came as close as he has done all year at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Russell and Hamilton start second and third, behind world champion Verstappen, for a race that has not been won from pole position since 2016, when Hamilton did it.
Verstappen will still start as favorites. If he wins on Sunday, it will be his 14th victory of the season – a new all-time record.
But Mercedes have looked competitive all weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and Russell felt the 0.304-second gap by which Verstappen beat him to pole – a lot on one of the shorter laps of the season – flattered the Red Bull driver.
“It was a very difficult session,” Russell said. “The car has been feeling very good all weekend, and then my first lap in Q1, it was just awful. I was driving terribly and I just had no rhythm whatsoever.”
By the start of the final session – Q3 – Russell seemed to have his rhythm back. He was 0.143secs off Verstappen on their opening laps and felt he could do substantially better.
“The lap in Q3 was not a banker, but a good lap, a clean lap and I knew there was a lot more to come,” Russell said. “And when I started pushing more, I got bitten by the car.”
This was the problem with the Mercedes car that Hamilton described in the interview he did with BBC Sport and three selected other outlets in Austin last weekend, and which was published on Thursday.
“Taking the car to the limit,” Hamilton said, “is like creeping up behind a horse – you’re trying to get as close as possible. What’s the breaking point before it kicks you in the face? And you know it’s going to hurt when it hits your face.”
Russell said after qualifying: “I am disappointed because I felt like the team deserved pole position, but ultimately the points are on Sunday and we will be going for the win.
“It’s a shame but we are starting P2, the second best quality of the year, and there are a lot of positives to take away.
