‘This car has no sweet spot!’ - Wolff explains reasons for Russell’s struggles

After finishing ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship last year, much was expected of Russell in F1 2023.

Particularly since the introduction of Mercedes’ sidepod upgrade in Monaco, Russell has been no match for Hamilton.

While the points difference is only 49 to Hamilton, Russell is on the backfoot going into the second half of the season.

Speaking before the summer break, Wolff addressed Russell’s difficulties with the W14.

“These cars are on the knife’s edge,” Wolff explained.

“You can quickly fall off it and lose the confidence. On the other side, if you’re within that corridor of sweet spot… having said that, that car [W14] has no sweet spot!

“But being more in that zone of understanding what it will do next, I think there’s a big difference and you can quickly be in either one of these situations, and obviously it goes against you.”

Technical director Mike Elliott is confident Russell will turn it around soon.

“I think these cars are hard to drive and they’re running close to the ground,” Elliott added.

“And it’s tricky to sort of find that right balance through the corner. It’s tricky to do [that] with the stiffness of the cars.

“George is a fantastic driver so I’m sure he’ll get what he needs to get out of the car fairly quickly.”