George Russell described 2023 as one of his worst seasons ever with only two podiums compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton’s six.
Despite outscoring his seven time world champion teammate last season, Russell finished eighth in 2023.
Matters were made worse when this is compared to Hamilton who finished third.
Mercedes endured it’s first winless season since 2011 as it continued to struggle on pace.
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Although having a strong race to finish the season, taking his second podium in Abu Dhabi, Russell was clear he felt this was one of his worst seasons.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “There’s a reason every single race [for the issues], whether it’s me crashing into a wall [in Singapore] or the rain coming down in Zandvoort on the wrong lap or the engine breaking down in Melbourne.
“It’s just tiny little things which you can say ‘Easy to rectify that’.
“But when it happens once or twice, you can put it down to bad luck. When it happens on maybe nine, 10, 11 occasions throughout the year, it’s definitely not luck.
“Ultimately, the car isn’t quick enough. We need to keep on pushing. When the competition’s so high, one small mistake and you drop a number of places.”
Russell also had a hard crash in the test following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Blamed on a car issue stopping him from turning at the end of the straight, it brought out a red flag and an abrupt end to the session.
The one-day Pirelli tyre test had seen Russell complete 58 laps before the incident.
Adding another incident to the his 2023 list, Russell had severa; big moments in 2023.
The last being in Las Vegas against Verstappen, it’s easy to understand how 2023 has been a messy year for the Brit.
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All eyes however are turning to 2024 within Mercedes, aware of the work they have to do.
Speaking to selected media, Hamilton spoke of how he believes the team has found a north star.
He said: “We didn’t have a North Star necessarily at the beginning of the year, knowing exactly where we needed to work towards.
“And it’s been kind of a zigzag line trying to frickin’ get to where we need to be. Every now and then something positive happens, you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s it.’ And then it shifts, so the goalpost is always moving, which is typical.”
“I think we understand the car so much better now. We have developed great tools in the background.
“I’m hopeful. But I’m not going to hold my breath.”
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