Second place was the best Mercedes could hope for in the 2023 F1 season with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell powerless to stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominating

George Russell echoed Lewis Hamilton when he declared himself delighted to be rid of his Mercedes W14 car.

It was a machine good enough for the Brits to narrowly secure second place in the championship for their team. But neither of them particularly enjoyed driving a temperamental machine which was not quick enough to challenge for the title and too much of a “diva” when it came to set-ups.

After a difficult second season with the team, Russell is thrilled to never have to race the W14 again. “We’re taking a clean slate into next year’s car,” he said. “The positive is we’re not scratching our heads as to why we’re so far behind Red Bull. We see so many flaws with this car.

“That gives every single person back at the factory so much motivation and fire to chase after those problems and find those solutions, which we think will make a good step into next year. Of course, I expect Red Bull to make a step again, but I’ve no doubt, come Bahrain, we’ll be in a stronger position than we were in Bahrain this year.”

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His words echoed past comments from Hamilton, who suffered a wretched end to the campaign. He finished eighth, seventh and then ninth in the final three races of the year, having fallen completely out of sync with his car.

Even with a couple of races still to go, the seven-time world champion was already talking about the relief he would feel when he was done driving it. “The last couple of races we’ve been excited that we’re progressing, and it’s been really positive to see,” he said after the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint.

“And you come to another track and then you have the worst [tyre degradation] that you’ve had for ages. So it’s like you just don’t know what to expect with this one. But only a couple more races with this car and it’s gone, and I’ll be happy! This year, you’re just counting down the days, trying to enjoy every day as you can.”

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