Russell on Mercedes sidepods: 'That isn't the performance differentiator'

The Mercedes car was the talk of the town at the start of the season with a striking design, as the W13 had extremely narrow sidepods. In the end, it turned out that Lewis Hamilton and Russell's team was not well prepared for the new regulations, as the team had many problems especially at the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, the gap towards Red Bull Racing and Ferrari has narrowed, but the team is still unable to compete for wins. Speaking to Formula1.com, Russell says that the team is exploring several options for the 2023 car. Possibly Mercedes will completely tweak this season's design.

Possible draft change Mercedes

"I think nothing’s off the table. For sure we’ve got a pretty unique design with the sidepods. It’s not off the cards that we will continue with that design, but it is equally not off the cards that we will completely change philosophy. But ultimately whether we have the wide sidepods or the narrow sidepods that isn’t the performance differentiator, there is more to it," the Briton says.

The team was strong at Zandvoort and the Hungaroring, but at Monza and Spa the team was again far behind Red Bull and Ferrari. According to Russell, Mercedes understands where the problem lies, but it cannot be solved overnight. "We’ve got to keep on developing this car and next year will sort of be an evolution of this and I think now we do have a totally clear direction of how to develop the car.”