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Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas driver George Russell (63) celebrates his race victory of the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

George Russell Explains W16 Car Issues He Battled With At The Bahrain GP

Originally posted on F1 on SI | By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 4:06 PM ET

Through the final stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes driver George Russell was battling several issues during the race, including problems with his DRS system and brakes.

Somehow, despite the issues persisting for several laps, he managed to maintain his P2 podium finish, an impressive result given the pace shown by Ferrari and McLaren during the race itself.

Russell was somewhat saved by the battle between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, which allowed him to hang on for a few laps as the issues continued to arise.

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Given all the challenges and obstacles he faced, Russell came away from the race pleased with the finish.

"George suffered a brake-by-wire failure and was having to manage brake pedal pressure that was changing from corner to corner

"To do that without losing any time was amazing!!

Read the latest from Toto, George, Kimi and Shov after the Bahrain GP
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 13, 2025

"It was all under control for a moment and then suddenly we had a brake by wire failure so suddenly the pedal was going long and then it was going short so didn't know what was going on," he said after the race.

"The steering wheel wasn't working properly so it was really hard fought to keep Lando behind. I think one more lap he would have got me pretty comfortably but, nevertheless, really pleased with P2."

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"Oscar was in a league of his own so congratulations to him and McLaren. "

"For ourselves it's three podiums in four races all on different circuits, so it gives us confidence for the future."

The Mercedes W16 has demonstrated significant promise in pace over the last few races, and Russell appears to be maximizing the car's performance, resulting in a strong start to the season.

There were moments when Russell seemingly threatened Piastri for the race win, given his pace. However, Piastri managed to secure the victory in his McLaren, which is exceptionally quick in clean air.

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The drive was ultimately massively impressive from Russell, who had a lot going on to process with two quick cars not too far behind.

There was a moment that threatened to ruin his race when he accidentally opened his DRS, as it was not working.

"We were having all sorts of failures and basically we had to do an overdrive on the DRS and on one lap I clicked the radio button and the DRS opened," Russell said.

"So I straight away closed it again, backed off, nothing gained. I lost more than I gained, it was only open for a split second."

"Kind of goes to show the amount of issues we were having."

DECISION: No penalty for Russell.

Stewards accept the reasoning for the DRS opening was accidental, gaining him 0.02s on the straight and that he gave up 0.28s at the next corner to compensate#F1 #BahrainGP
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) April 13, 2025