George Russell highlighted how his Mercedes team are totally perplexed by the performance of their car this season, as he and teammate Lewis Hamilton surprised all (including themselves!) with P2 and P3 in qualifying for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes W14, much like its predecessor of last year, is a complex car that the team have failed to understand for over a year now.
However, today in Melbourne qualifying it was a Hare, not a Tortoise, a sudden reality that caught the former F1 World Champion team by surprise, including Russell who will start from the front row on Sunday in Melbourne, alongside Red Bull's pole-winner Max Verstappen on the front row.
The Briton admitted after qualy in parc ferme: "We weren't expecting that, that's for sure. The car felt awesome and we've definitely got potential still to come. It must be the jet lag program we're doing, something's got to be right.
"We've got to understand when you've had good days and bad days," insisted Russell, inadvertently or not, revealing how out of touch they really are with the Mercedes W14.
He added: "We would have been happy with a top four, top five. We'll take it - it's going to be exciting tomorrow, tough against Max and I'm very happy to finish P2."
George: The car felt alive, the lap at the end was right on the limit
Nevertheless, he credited hard work at Brackley for the upsurge in performance: "A lot of hard work going on at the factory, here in Melbourne, and wow, what a session for us.
"The car felt alive, the lap at the end was right on the limit and to be honest I'm a little bit disappointed that we didn't get pole position. It's one of those things where your expectations change so quickly in this sport," declared Russell.
Mercedes trackside boss Andrew Shovlin echoed his drivers' sentiments: "Max has shown incredible pace in both races so far. Assuming that carries into tomorrow he'll be able to manage the tyres and build a gap all at the same time.
"However, our fight at the moment is with Ferrari and Aston and if we can stay ahead of them, we'll be very happy," reasoned Shovlin."
Notably, with Verstappen and Russell on the front row at Albert Park for the race on Sunday, the pair of Young Guns expected to dominate the sport to come, starting ahead of two of the sport's living legends, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, the Old Guard in their final years.
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