Timo Glock slams 25-year-old F1 driver’s ‘inexplicable’ United States GP ‘problems’

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Timo Glock thinks the ‘problems’ that George Russell had at the United States GP were ‘inexplicable’ given the gains Lewis Hamilton found with Mercedes’ upgrades at COTA.

The Silver Arrows arrived in Austin with a revised floor as they strive to make further inroads into their deficit to Red Bull. Hamilton would also put Mercedes’ upgrades into good use last Sunday as he battled Max Verstappen for the win. But Russell could only cross the line in P7.

Russell finished the United States GP 22.7 seconds from Hamilton in P2 as the 25-year-old struggled all weekend. He would, ultimately, move up to P5 a few hours after the chequered flag due to the disqualifications of Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for skid block wear.

Hamilton had Russell covered in every session at the United States GP

Hamilton had Russell covered in every session at the United States GP and claimed P2 in the Sprint on Saturday. The 38-year-old was three-tenths of a second faster in practice, he beat Russell by two-tenths in qualifying and was then half a second faster in the Sprint Shootout.

Russell’s lap times were only good enough to qualify P8 for the Sprint before finishing in P8. He also qualified in P5 for the United States GP before finishing in P7, prior to Hamilton and Leclerc’s disqualifications. Hamilton ended the 19-lap Sprint 24.7 seconds in front of Russell.

Glock has hope for Mercedes in 2024 but left COTA questioning Russell

Such were the problems that Russell endured last Friday that the Mercedes driver admitted he feared failing to reach Q3. The Briton also stated that he could feel the improvements of the Silver Arrows’ upgrades straight away. But Russell failed to deliver a strong performance.

What Russell did show over the United States GP further failed to impress Glock as Hamilton proved Mercedes’ upgrades delivered. The former Toyota Formula 1 driver is now looking to next year with hope for the Silver Arrows. But he left COTA questioning what Russell offered.

“Mercedes now understand the direction in which things need to go,” he told Sky Germany. “I think the car is simply more reminiscent of Red Bull and McLaren.

“It was clear to see that things are moving more and more in the right direction – even now with the update, which worked very well for Lewis Hamilton. That makes it all the more inexplicable to me why George Russell had such problems.

“But at Mercedes, they have learned enough to bring a car for next year that is on par with Red Bull right from the start, and I’m very excited about that.”