F1: George Russell Points Out What Went Wrong With Mercedes In 2022 Season

Mercedes driver George Russell revealed what went wrong for the racing team, which managed just one victory in the entire 2022 season.

According to Russell, Mercedes got its philosophy wrong this year and was building itself for the upcoming season.

"They haven't forgotten how to build a fast race car. We just got it wrong this year. We got the philosophy wrong. We went down a route that turned out to be the wrong route. Sometimes it takes you a long time to dig yourself out of that hole. Now I feel we've dug ourselves out of that hole and we're building on top of that," Russell told BBC Radio Norfolk.

Russell further expressed confidence that his team will be in a "much stronger position" in F1 2023.

"We are a step behind Red Bull and Ferrari and we've got a lot of catching up to do - but we're definitely going to be in a much stronger position from race one next year than we were this year," added Russell, who replaced Valtteri Bottas in Mercedes for the 2022 season.

The lone victory of Mercedes this season came because of Russell, who clinched his F1 career's maiden victory when he bagged P1 in Brazil Grand Prix in November.

Having won the constructors' championship every single year since 2014, Mercedes' streak broke this year when they finished third in the table, with Red Bull winning the coveted trophy, ahead of Ferrari.

Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to register a single Grand Prix victory in the 2022 campaign. He finished sixth in the drivers' title race with 240 points, 35 less than Russell, who bagged P4 in the drivers' championship.

The Brit driver clinched seven other podiums, apart from his victory at Sao Paulo, despite Mercedes struggling to match the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari for much of the season.

"When you join a team like Mercedes you're expecting victories. I felt ready to fight for race wins and championships this year but you've just got to manage your expectations. You've got to change those sights slightly and it's been really intriguing for me this year, seeing how the team deal with this situation," Russell added.

Meanwhile, Mercedes also signed Mick Schumacher as their reserve driver after Ferrari ended its four-year affiliation with the son of the legendary Michael Schumacher. This new role would see the continuation of the Schumacher affiliation with Mercedes, who funded Michael's early career. He also drove for Mercedes between 2010 and 2012, the first three seasons since its return to the F1 grid.