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Motorsport

George Russell blasts Mercedes as being “dead slow” after wilting in Imola disappointment

George Russell Mercedes Williams Racing

George Russell delivered a damning assessment of his Mercedes team’s performance in the F1 Imola Grand Prix - saying they were "dead slow" and lucky to finish as high as they did.

Russell came home in seventh place while his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired from the race, as the team battled against rising temperatures.

Russell says the heat is causing him and Mercedes a headache as they have poor performance when the temperatures go up - a problem stretching back to last year that the team has been unable to solve.

When asked if it was just an unfortunate weekend in which he failed to score decent points, Russell told Sky Sports F1: “No, we were definitely not [with] bad luck, we were just dead slow.

“I mean the trends are pretty clear, when it's hot we're slow, when it's cold we're quick, and that was the same last year. We've been doing everything with the set-up to try and find solutions, but there's clearly something more fundamental in the car.

“It's not the first race of the season where we've been slower than Ferrari, and even slower than Williams, or the same pace as Williams, but we've just somehow managed to get a result out of it on these occasions. But today, we were very lucky to finish P7, in all honesty.”

George Russell, Mercedes (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images)

Russell says he identified the problem on his reconnaissance lap to the grid for the start and reported the issue to his engineers, but they could not detect the source of what was causing him to feel uncomfortable with the car.

He added: “It was very odd. I mean on the laps to the grid I was reporting problems with the car and I thought something was wrong. The team had a good look around and saw nothing and that feeling continued for 60-odd laps after.

“We do have a bit of a fundamental [issue] because either the fronts are overheating, or the rears are overheating, circuit to circuit. But it's not the first time we've reported that. So it was probably just the first time where all of our rivals probably had a semi-decent race.”

Photos from Imola GP - Race

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Alexandra Saint Mleux and Leo Leclerc

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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

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Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

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Franco Colapinto, Alpine

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz, Williams, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

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Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

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Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Carlos Sainz, Williams

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes, Pierre Gasly, Alpine

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Carlos Sainz, Williams

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes, Pierre Gasly, Alpine

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Simone Susinna

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

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Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Thierry Boutsen drives his Arrows A8 for the F1 car presentation

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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Fans

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Valentino Rossi poses for a photo

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Alexander Albon, Williams

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Alexander Albon, Williams

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Alexander Albon, Williams

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Sunday

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Formula 1

George Russell

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

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