P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Russell: Mercedes "getting slower" while rivals improve during F1 rounds
George Russell showed promising speed during the practice sessions and qualified in seventh place at the Jeddah street circuit, gaining only one position during the 50-lap race. The team struggled with the performance of the Mercedes W15, with Russell attributing the decline in pace over the weekend to the car getting slower rather than competitors getting faster. Despite finishing the race almost 40 seconds behind the winner Max Verstappen, Russell acknowledged the tight competition with teams like McLaren and Aston Martin. Both Russell and his teammate Lewis Hamilton experienced issues with their cars bouncing throughout the weekend, indicating broader challenges with the W15’s performance that need to be addressed. Russell emphasized the complexity of modern Formula 1 cars and the difficulty in pinpointing the exact reasons for the performance drop-off seen during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
