Hamilton and Russell issue glum verdict on Mercedes car after dismal Austrian GP

02 July 2023 , 17:31

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Lewis Hamilton bemoaned his car's lack of performance in the Austria race (Image: Sky Sports)

George Russell echoed the verdict from Lewis Hamilton as they expressed their surprise over their lack of pace during the Austrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull continued their 100 per cent record for the season with victory. Max Verstappen made it look easy once again at the front, while Sergio Perez charged from 15th on the grid to finish third.

But they weren't the only ones ahead of Mercedes. Charles Leclerc split Verstappen and Perez on the podium while Carlos Sainz finished fourth – Ferrari's best result of the year to date.

Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso also got the better of the two Silver Arrows drivers. They simply struggled for pace on the short but quick Austria track, which caught them by surprise.

They admitted as much as they spoke to reporters after the session. Hamilton looked particularly glum, having been slapped with a time penalty for exceeding track limits too many times and given a public telling-off by Toto Wolff over the radio.

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The seven-time world champion said: " McLaren and Lando did a great job today, McLaren were super quick. Wasn't expecting them to be as fast as they were but we weren't expecting to be as slow as we were either. This track just highlighted some areas for us to work on. Not the greatest of days."

And Russell concurred: "The pace was really not what we expected it to be. We have a lot to understand, because we took a big step backwards. And Lando and McLaren were a big surprise for us, so they clearly got it right.

George Russell was also surprised by his car's lack of pace (Sky Sports)

"We have a fast car in certain circumstances. And we just need to understand why we didn't this weekend."

Hamilton also spoke to Sky Sports after the race, in which he cut an especially glum figure. He was giving blunt answers to questions, such as when he was asked if the result was simply a lack of performance and he just answered: "Yep."

Speaking after that interview was aired, pundit Damon Hill said: "I don't think I've ever heard them sound lower than that in a long, long time."

Daniel Moxon