George Russell’s Mercedes W15 subject to additional checks as FIA cast verdict

The Mercedes W15 driven by George Russell was chosen at random by the FIA for additional inspections following the United States Grand Prix.

And the verdict was positive as the FIA ruled that the Mercedes W15 had passed those checks with flying colours.

George Russell’s Mercedes passes FIA checks

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

In addition to the standard post-race scrutineering, Formula 1’s governing body the FIA will also randomly select one car from the top 10 to perform additional inspections.

In the case of Russell, it was the Mercedes internal combustion engine in his W15 which the FIA had a closer look at and found all was fully compliant.

“After the race in Austin, car number 63 was randomly chosen among the top ten cars for more extensive physical inspections,” the stewards’ report reads.

“Subject to these physical inspections was the ICE water system including the heat exchangers, the standard pressure and temperature sensors, their loom routing and connections to the SECU and other units.

“All inspected components were found to be in conformance with the 2024 Formula One Technical Regulations.”

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Mercedes brought an upgraded W15 to COTA, though Russell was back using a pre-summer break floor after crashing out of qualifying, which enforced the change.

Russell therefore started from the pit lane and recovered to sixth. He sensed a shot at the podium would have been on had he started higher up the grid.

Asked by the media including PlanetF1.com how tricky it was going into the race with a different spec W15, Russell replied: “I had no idea what to expect going into today, but clearly the pace was pretty good.

“I’m still confident that the upgrades were working as expected, and I really think we could have been fighting for probably a podium if we’d have been in a normal starting position.

“So I think in the sprint race, I just destroyed my tyres, but clearly in those early laps yesterday, we had the pace, and we’ve shown glimmers of really strong pace this weekend.”

Russell’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton was not fully sold on the W15 upgrade package after spinning out of the race on just the second lap at Turn 19, the scene of Russell’s qualifying crash.

Reflecting on the crash with the media including PlanetF1.com, Hamilton had claimed that “the left front started bouncing, and the rear end just came around, the same as George” had suffered in qualifying, but back with the old-spec W15 on grand prix Sunday, Russell according to Hamilton was “looking good out there, so maybe there is something with the new upgrade.”

Russell was asked for his response to Hamilton’s comments.

“I managed to change the setup a bit because of the parc ferme start,” said Russell. “Nothing really to do with the upgrades.

“I don’t think… It’s pretty complicated.”

Mercedes sit P4 in the Constructors’ Championship standings going into the Mexican Grand Prix, 152 points behind Ferrari a position ahead.

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