That's just one aspect. What makes these guys successful is such razor thin margins. Consider most races a terrible Haas car can qualify literally tenths of a second behind Ferrari for example and Haas is a laughing stock.
It’s actually quite easy to fix. The teams just don’t want to sacrifice downforce (performance) to achieve it. I think the all the teams are experimenting with how much they have to give up performance wise to fix it.
George Russell is the most arrogant relative to least accomplishment of any driver on the grid and now has a silver arrow stuck up his ass. I wouldn’t let GR gas me up like that either.
Carlos is right and if Mercedes wants to play that game then I think he's completely in the right to spin it back on them. It's all expectations management.
I know you know this but for any potentially newer fans/viewers please do not think this means anything other than Haas going for a bit of a glory run to get some shine on their name as they attempt to find replacement sponsors. All teams are running intentionally lower engine modes/higher fuel loads to mask the true speed of the car during preseason and the lap times are not indicative of season performance.
I think that battle will be especially fascinating throughout the year. We can finally get some real data points on Schumacher's competitiveness.
Russell going from a beloved driver who everyone wants to get his fair shot at a top seat to cocky, entitled little prick is going to be the best path any driver will take this year...
Also much like the rumblings about Mercedes hiding its true car look for this weekends testing... Redbull is rumored to look different tomorrow. ready for the tears from Totto