拉塞尔承认梅赛德斯升级套件仍需微调
拉塞尔在美国大奖赛前坦言，梅赛德斯在马来西亚引入的升级套件存在问题，车队仍需时间进行微调。
拉塞尔承认梅赛德斯仍需时间“微调”存在问题的升级套件
拉塞尔承认，在美国大奖赛前，梅赛德斯仍在努力微调其在马来西亚引入的存在问题的升级套件
致梅赛德斯车迷。来自银箭车队的最新消息，包括F1新闻、车手动态、赛车研发以及来自布拉克利和布里克斯沃思的赛事分析。
当你的队友即将锁定F1世界冠军时，你最不愿承认的，恐怕就是车队最新这套耗资数百万美元的升级套件有点像个废品。但随着F1围场抵达美洲赛道、备战美国大奖赛，拉塞尔对梅赛德斯的现状保持了直言不讳的态度。
在奥斯汀的周四媒体日上，拉塞尔没有粉饰车队近期的空气动力学困境。当媒体热议安东内利有望锁定总冠军时，拉塞尔承认车库里的工程团队仍在努力弄清楚，为什么他们备受期待的近期升级彻底失效了。
这场风波始于本月早些时候，梅赛德斯在巴林大奖赛（在马来西亚举行）推出了一套大规模升级包。新部件非但没有甩开竞争对手，反而让车队对赛车的平衡问题摸不着头脑。
“这其实跟我没什么关系，所以你知道，作为一支车队，这两场比赛挺有意思的，”拉塞尔对媒体承认。“我们显然在马来西亚带来了那套大升级。它的表现没有完全达到我们的期望。”
马克斯·维斯塔潘，红牛车队，乔治·拉塞尔，梅赛德斯
梅赛德斯没有惊慌失措地把新的碳纤维部件扔进垃圾桶，而是把随后的新加坡大奖赛当作一次大规模的高速测试环节，用来收集关于调校的连续对比数据。
“随后我们在新加坡进行连续对比测试，获得了非常好的信息，我们确信升级方向是正确的，只是还需要更多时间来微调调校，以充分发挥其潜力，”他解释道。
梅赛德斯目前绝对没有奢侈的时间。虽然安东内利在积分上处于车阵前列，但竞争对手正紧追不舍。红牛在赛季末强势发力，马克斯·维斯塔潘在马来西亚和新加坡连续取得统治性胜利，而迈凯伦和法拉利则持续抢分，并带着自己的升级来到得克萨斯。
如果梅赛德斯想要稳稳拿下制造商冠军，并给拉塞尔一辆有能力争夺胜利的赛车，就必须立即解锁这些新升级的调校窗口。对布拉克利车队来说幸运的是，赛历上最后一个冲刺赛周末已在新加坡结束。这意味着美国大奖赛是传统的比赛格式，给车队三节完整的练习时段来调整调校——对于一支急需赛道时间来测试部件的车队而言，这是极大的奢侈。
“所以我们希望能重新回到领先位置，因为现在红牛看起来非常强劲。迈凯伦在其他比赛中也一直很强。法拉利也有升级，所以我们需要找回那种状态，”这位英国车手表示。
在奥斯汀还有三个关键的自由练习小时，梅赛德斯迎来了终于理解其赛车的黄金机会。
“所以是的，进入这个周末，看看我们能做些什么，努力让梅赛德斯重回巅峰，因为已经有一段时间了，让我们看看未来会怎样，”拉塞尔总结道。
英文原文
George Russell admits Mercedes still needs time to “fine-tune” problematic upgrade package
George Russell admits Mercedes is still struggling to fine-tune its problematic Malaysia upgrades ahead of the US GP
For Mercedes fans. All the latest from the Silver Arrows, with F1 news, driver updates, car development and race analysis from Brackley and Brixworth.
When your team-mate is on the verge of sealing the Formula 1 World Championship, the absolute last thing you want to admit is that your team’s latest multi-million-dollar upgrade package is a bit of a dud. But as the F1 paddock descends on the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix, George Russell is keeping things brutally honest about the current state of Mercedes.
During Thursday's media day in Austin, Russell didn't sugarcoat the team's recent aerodynamic struggles. While the press was buzzing about Kimi Antonelli potentially clinching the title, Russell admitted the engineering side of the garage is still trying to figure out why their highly anticipated recent upgrades fell flat on their face.
The drama started earlier this month when Mercedes rolled out a massive upgrade package at the Bahrain Grand Prix (in Malaysia). Instead of blowing away the competition, the new parts left the team scratching their heads regarding the car's balance.
"It's nothing to do with me really, so you know, as a team it's been an interesting couple of races," Russell admitted to the press. "We obviously brought that big upgrade in Malaysia. It didn't perform quite as we hoped."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Instead of panicking and throwing the new carbon fibre bits in the trash, Mercedes used the subsequent Singapore Grand Prix as a massive, high-speed test session to gather back-to-back data on the set-up.
"We then got really good info in Singapore doing the back-to-back, and we're confident the upgrade is the way to go, but it just needs some more time to fine-tune the set-up to get the most out of it," he explained.
Mercedes absolutely does not have the luxury of time right now. While Antonelli is mathematically positioned at the sharp end of the grid, the competition is breathing down their necks. Red Bull is surging late in the season, with Max Verstappen securing dominant back-to-back victories in Malaysia and Singapore, while McLaren and Ferrari are consistently stealing points and bringing upgrades of their own to Texas.
If Mercedes wants to comfortably secure the Constructors' crown and give Russell a car capable of fighting for wins, it has to unlock the set-up window for these new upgrades immediately. Fortunately for the Brackley squad, the final Sprint weekend of the calendar concluded in Singapore. That means the US Grand Prix is a traditional race format, giving the team three full practice sessions to dial in the set-up—a massive luxury for a team desperately needing track time to test parts.
"So we're hoping we can get back on top of things because right now Red Bull are looking extremely strong. McLaren have been really strong in other races. Ferrari have upgrades as well, so we need to regain that form," the Brit stated.
With three crucial hours of free practice ahead of them in Austin, Mercedes has a golden opportunity to finally understand its car.
"So yeah, into this weekend, see what we can do, try and get Mercedes back on top because it's been a while, and let's see what the future holds," Russell concluded.
Motorsport.com ·
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