George Russell is “confident” that Mercedes will end 2023 second in the Constructors’ Championship, with the Briton revealing that the Silver Arrows have some “little things” to introduce after the summer break.
Mercedes have endured another troubling season so far, which started in worrying fashion.
The Silver Arrows found themselves fourth in the pecking order at the start of the season, which led to immediate discussions about changing the W14 drastically.
That’s exactly what they did, as at the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes introduced an entirely new concept of the car.
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Mercedes scrapped their ‘zero-sidepod’ philosophy for a more traditional approach, which saw them take some inspiration from Red Bull.
Since then, the Brackley-based team have improved considerably, with the German manufacturer having claimed four podiums in the last six races.
Lewis Hamilton also claimed a pole position recently at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which marked his first pole since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows have also built a comfortable buffer between themselves and Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship, putting Mercedes in control of second place.
Further improvements are still required though, with Red Bull still being significantly stronger than the Germans.
McLaren, too, have been stronger than Mercedes at three of the last four races, with the customer team having suddenly made a huge stride towards Red Bull.
The likelihood is that Mercedes will soon switch their attention to 2024 rather than returning to winning ways this season; however, Russell is convinced that his side will be “strong” in the remainder of the year.
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“I think they just had a really good run of form,” Russell said, following a question from RaceFans.net.
“It’s often how it goes in this sport when you’re on the right foot, things are a little bit easier, you’re not stressing, the car’s in the right place when you put it on the ground.
“I’m sure we’re going to be strong the second half of the season and we’ve got some little things coming after the break. But I’m confident we can secure that second-best team and try and close that gap further.”