George Russell started the Canadian GP from pole position, but he could not manage to stay in front. The wet race was quite a challenge and every car had multiple pitstops. In the end, Mercedes could not find the right strategy and Russell ended up P3 in the race. Although this was his first podium, it must have hurt to know that victory was in his gasp, but he couldn’t hold on to it.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, made steady progress throughout the race, starting at P7 and finishing splits of a second behind Russell. Anything could have happened in the end between the Mercedes drivers but ultimately Russell was the quicker driver. However, after the race, F1 pundits came to talk about what happened as they discussed the missing factor that prevented him from his second career win.

George Russell’s flaw that holds him back

The Canadian Grand Prix was an exciting race where a lot of unexpected things happened, starting with a Mercedes pole, which was unexpected. The team translated that into a podium finish, but according to some pundits, he lacks something that it takes to win races. On The Red Flags Podcast, Brian Muller and Matt Elisofon discussed the eventful race and George Russell’s performance.

On the podcast, the two hosts started to talk about George Russell and asked the question, “Is he the definition of, like, not the complete package?” The reply to this was, “Just, he’s got one glaring flaw, which is he’s just there. You know, on the race day, he just doesn’t… Like, we were saying this about Lando. Yeah, you know, does he have the killer instinct, right? About Lando? I think George has a killer instinct. He just kind of loses his nerve, or he just, you know, cracks under pressure. “

Lando Norris has had his fair share of bad luck winning the Grand Prix; he was compared to Russell, but both drivers have their own set of problems. Speaking of the killer instinct, the podcast hosts continued: “He [Russell] definitely wants to m*rd*r people, yes, which sometimes you’re not sure of with Lando. Lando seems very nice. Lando doesn’t necessarily always send it. Yes, George sends it, but when there’s the mounting pressure, he gets overwhelmed.”

A devastating comparison was given to George Russell’s driving as the hosts said, “There’s a Titanic memorial blocks from where we are right now, and that’s what George Russell is. He’s like this very ambitious project of Toto Wolff’s that’s just doomed to failure.” However, not everything looks gloomy for Mercedes, as this was the best result they have had all season. So let’s take a look at where they stand.

Mercedes’ position after the Canadian Grand Prix

Mercedes has been P4 in the constructors championship since the beginning of the season and the team has a lot of points to still collect. Both drivers have collected 96 points so far, with Russell leading at 54, and Hamilton at 42. Their results at the Canadian GP have shown that they are not out of the race yet. There are still many races left before the season ends and if they manage to be consistent, they might have a chance at targeting McLaren.

Although the gap is too large at this point with McLaren ahead by 88 points, anything can happen in Formula 1. The new upgrades have shown that the W15 is not as difficult to drive as it was before this weekend, however, now it’s up to the drivers to push harder and bring in wins for the team. This is Lewis Hamilton’s last season with the team, and he would love to end it on a high note, despite not winning the championship.

Currently, in the midfield, Mercedes needs to put in a lot of work to be able to break into the top 3 as McLaren has picked up their pace too. Ferrari performed extremely well, taking the win in Monaco, and they will be a very difficult target to catch up to. For now, all that the Silver Arrows can do is shoot straight and chase the Papaya army. That being said, do you think Mercedes will make a comeback this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.