Newly-made Mercedes driver George Russell views the constructors’ championship in 2022 as an open competition as the newly signed ex-Williams racing driver said it could be a pentathlon for the title this season.
The Silver Arrows may have won the eighth consecutive Constructors Championship record in 2021. But Russell, who will be replaced by Alex Albon at Williams in 2022, said the new era of Formula 1 could see teams like McLaren and Ferrari – both of which were saved at the top of midfield in 2021 – take the fight to Red Bull and Mercedes up.
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“A team like Ferrari, which has had a difficult time over the past two years, will be so hungry to fight again, especially with this new rule change, much like McLaren. These teams have the infrastructure, the talent within the engineering department, including the drivers, to really fight, ”said Russell in late 2021.
“I really believe there are five teams that are all capable of doing something really special next year, so you absolutely have to be there and I think development will be absolutely crucial.” [in 2022]. “
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A multitude of rule changes combined with the cost cap mean the new, more race-ready F1 cars could get other teams involved in the battle for the title.
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And Russell – who ran for Mercedes in the Abu Dhabi test at the end of the season, an experience he described as “strange” – concluded by saying that a year-long development war will determine the winner of this season, not just the team that comes to the ground running in Bahrain.
“It won’t be the one who has the fastest car [at testing or the first race]; it is the one who manages to understand the car well and can develop and build on this basis all year round, ”he said. “And I think all teams will make great progress from the first race to the end of the season.”
