George Russell believes that Max Verstappen could have driven much faster at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The British driver observed how the three-time world champion managed his tires well, only accelerating when Lando Norris began to pose a threat. Russell’s admiration for Verstappen’s driving skills reminds him of another Formula 1 champion.
Max Verstappen managed to finish the race in Spain with a comfortable lead of over two seconds ahead of Norris. The Dutch driver also finished a significant 22 seconds ahead of George Russell in fourth place. According to the Mercedes driver, that gap could have been much larger, as Russell doesn’t believe Verstappen was driving at full throttle in Barcelona.
Mercedes Driver Praises Verstappen’s Performance
“I think he had the fastest car,” says the Mercedes driver about Verstappen. “If you look at his pace, it was very controlled in the first stint.” The British driver is therefore convinced that Verstappen could have gone much faster: “probably even six tenths per lap” in the fast corners. “If you have that buffer, you can manage the tires better,” explains Russell. “Lando overtook him, but he just drove harder when he had to.”
The Mercedes driver therefore also compares the combination of Verstappen and Red Bull Racing with another duo that dominated the Formula 1 sport for a long time. “Max is one of the best drivers of all time, but the package between him and the team is like that of Lewis [Hamilton] in the Mercedes era.”
Mercedes Regains Confidence
The dominant Mercedes era, with only one victory since 2021 for the German team, is a thing of the past, but according to Russell, his team is back on the right track. “We finished I don’t know how many seconds behind the victory [in Barcelona]. Twenty or so, which is a lot. But we know that we had the fastest car [in Canada]. You just don’t have the fastest car every weekend,” says Russell. “It’s now up to us to take the next big step with our upgrades. So we have every confidence.”
