Imola GP: Formula 1: The Emilia Romagna GP is all set to take place later this weekend. Arguably the biggest contributor to this hype is the plethora of upgrades that Mercedes are planning to introduce this weekend. The Brackley-based team is set to change a mammoth 80 percent of their W-14 challenger this race. As the thrill is ensuing amongst the fans regarding the same, Mercedes driver George Russell has decided to take a pragmatic take on the whole situation. Follow Formula 1 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
The prestigious race, though currently threatened by continuing rain in the region, is highly awaited. Not just the Mercedes upgrades, it is much-anticipated for multitudes of reasons. Being Ferrari’s home race, the Red Team would definitely look to leave a mark for the ever-charming Tifosi. After a season defined by reliability issues and crashes, Imola would be a perfect redemption for the Maranello boys.
At the same time, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez being the obvious contenders for win would look to ruin everyone else’s party. The season is uni vocally dominated by Red Bull so far. Now, Fans are pinning a lot of hope on new Mercedes upgrades to change the dynamic on the grid. However, to the disappointment of these fans, Russell probably burst a bubble for many with his hot take on the situation.
Imola upgrades “won’t change the world”: George Russell
Mercedes enjoyed an era of sheer dominance between 2014 to 2021, winning every title but one. However, to Russell’s disappointment, Mercedes have been far away from front since he has joined the team. After initially taking the draggy car and porpoising last year, the Silver Arrows are now ready to launch new upgrades in car. The budget cost cap didn’t allow then a whole new car design but these new upgrades are expected to unlock significant downforce for the team.
While recently talking about the same, Russell didn’t appear to be over the moon regarding these new upgrades. He rather took a more pragmatic take on the whole situation. The Brit believes these changes are not a silver bullet that can cover such a giant leap from the cars up and running at the front.
“Imola is a new weekend, we’ll have some new bits on the car. Hopefully that’s positive. It’s not going to change the world for us in the short term but hopefully it’s a step in the right direction. I think we can’t get carried away ourselves, we need to do the talking on the track,” said Russell.
“We need to see how the upgrades perform when we get there. Fingers crossed they’re brilliant, but we’ll only know that on Friday morning,” added the Briton.
Though not a major one, any stride forward would be equally pleasing for the fans. What are your expectations from the Silver Arrows this weekend? Comment down below.
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