(Motorsport-Total.com) – After Charles Leclerc’s victory in Silverstone, George Russell sees Ferrari as a serious competitor in the title fight. However, the Mercedes driver emphasizes that his focus remains on his own performance and not on the direct rivals.
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“The Ferrari guys really look fast at the moment. So the game is on. We now have a close fight with Ferrari. It’s no longer just about Kimi and me, Lewis is still very close too. We have to keep improving,” explains Russell.
When asked how big he currently assesses the threat from Ferrari in the championship fight, the Brit replies that he is not focusing on that intensively at the moment: “Honestly, I don’t think about that because I have to take care of my own matters and improve on my side.”
“After Monaco, I was still 68 points behind, now I leave this weekend with only 25 points deficit. Of course, I gladly take that. But that won’t continue forever if our results and performance don’t improve,” Russell continues.
Ferrari also convinces Wolff
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is also impressed by Ferrari’s current form after the British Grand Prix and shifts the focus to himself and his team. “We have to look at ourselves first. Ferrari said before the weekend that they would lack energy on this track. That was not the case. They were a strong competitor and I think we have to expect that for the rest of the season.”
Read more George Russell warns: «Ferrari is now a real threat»
Besides the competitiveness of the Italians, Wolff also addresses the reliability problems at Mercedes. He made it clear that the team is willing to sacrifice some performance if necessary to improve durability.
“We are an organization fully focused on performance. Both on the chassis and engine side, we try to get everything out. I would rather take back some power and fix these small reliability issues than be reliable but lag behind in performance.”
Looking at the season so far, Wolff is still satisfied with his team’s record, as Mercedes has won seven of the first nine races. At the same time, he made it clear that from his point of view, a flawless record would have even been possible. With that, the team boss emphasized that despite individual setbacks, Mercedes still sees the potential to remain at the top of Formula 1.
Read more George Russell warns: «Ferrari is now a real threat»