Russell finished Friday’s practice running at the Miami International Autodrome with the fastest time, but conceded he did not really understand where Mercedes’ pace had come from after its difficult start to the season.
Mercedes trialled a change in set-up on Russell’s car in final practice before going back to the previous configuration for qualifying, only for him to drop out in Q2 in 12th place. Russell’s best lap in qualifying was two-tenths of a second slower than what he managed in FP2.
“It’s definitely a surprise, but after driving the car and experiencing how it felt, it’s no surprise,” Russell said.
“Today, it felt like a totally different beast. We had loads of porpoising today, and we don’t really understand why, and ultimately, that was the difficulty.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever felt it all the way through a corner. Through Turn 4 and Turn 5, it was just bouncing through it all, and then it’s all in the braking zones.
“It’s a shame, because I was slower today than I was yesterday, and everyone else went one second quicker.”
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Mercedes has struggled with porpoising on its W13 car throughout the early part of the 2022 season, leaving it unable to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull at the front of the field.
Russell struggled with a lack of rear stability on his car that was still there for qualifying despite backtracking on the set-up change in FP3, but cited the porpoising as the biggest issue that prevented him from getting into Q3.
“The rear of the car is hopping around, and you just don’t have any support or stability in the rear,” Russell said.
“Yesterday we were flying through sector one and had so much confidence in the car. And suddenly as I said, totally different beast today.
“It makes sense from within the car. But we don’t really understand why it’s so different.”
Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton managed to make it through to Q3, qualifying sixth behind the Ferrari and Red Bull cars, as well as the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton acknowledged Mercedes’ qualifying had been “a bit confusing with yesterday’s pace” and that it remained unsure why its performance seemed to be exaggerated in FP3.
“Today was a bit of a surprise to see in FP3, we were quite far back,” Hamilton said.
“So it was a bit nerve-wracking going into qualifying. We’ve not really taken a step forward or anything. But we’ve just got to keep on working.”
Ocon: 51G crash impact ‘unacceptable’ with lack of Tecpro barrier
Perez brands Miami track surface “a joke” as drivers fear poor race
Gasly “a bit sad” new F1 rules haven’t cut gap to top teams
Number of US sponsors in F1 has doubled under Liberty, says Williams
Why Imola’s step back in time is refreshing for F1’s future
Azerbaijan GP: Latest F1 technical developments from pitlane
Steiner: “Not possible” for Schumacher to continue run of F1 crashes
Magnussen: Two F1 race directors leading to more inconsistencies
Gasly considering “all options” after Perez lands new Red Bull F1 deal
The key strength Schumacher can rely on as Haas decides his F1 future
Michael Schumacher’s son has served his apprenticeship with a Haas team that brought up the rear of the Formula 1 field in 2021. Now he has a good car and a proper team-mate, he has to prove he belongs in F1. But his record to date, while not showing any points finishes, reveals there is plenty of promise he can build on
How classic Alonso strengths are helping him in a critical F1 phase
Fernando Alonso has been involved in F1 for over two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. BEN EDWARDS digs into the work ethic and team-building ability which underpins Alonso’s longevity
The overlooked flaws of the 2022 F1 cars that Baku will expose
OPINION: Though Formula 1’s return to ground-effect may have boosted overtaking, the other clear by-product of the technical overhaul has been weight gain. With wet conditions in Monaco stealing the show, the greatest shortcomings of the new rules will be on clear display at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Is F1 barking up the wrong tree with its anti-jewellery stance?
In a new regular column, MAURICE HAMILTON draws on his decades of grand prix experience to give an alternative take on the news. First up, he ponders the ongoing brouhaha over jewellery…
The contrasting temperaments that could prove key in F1 2022’s title fight
For the first time in a decade, Red Bull and Ferrari are properly fighting it out for the world championship – and, as STUART CODLING reveals, the duelling drivers are children of the 1990s who are picking up a similarly old grudge match from where they left off…
How star-studded Miami Grand Prix reveals F1’s direction of travel
Home to many a cinematic car chase, Miami has made a visually dramatic impact on the F1 calendar too – as one wag put it, they paved a parking lot and put up a paradise. GP Racing’s STUART CODLING was on the scene to sample a world of celebrities, fake marinas and imperilled six-foot iguanas
Porpoising: A lesson from history and one of F1’s greatest teams
Although the 2022 Formula 1 season is destined to be forever linked to the word ‘porpoising’, this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it’s a problem that was identified at the start of the first ground-effects era and has returned with a change in the rules that once more allow downforce-generating floors
The longest-serving Red Bull driver revealing F1’s true brutality
His day of days in Formula 1 came at Indianapolis in 2005, a day grand prix racing strives to forget. But Patrick Friesacher, the long-serving Red Bull lieutenant, remains active today driving a two-seater that provides ordinary people with a glimpse of an F1 car’s savage potential, including this writer…
