Mark Blundell talks George Russell, Carlos Sainz’s future, and Alpine struggles
The F1 circus is Down Under this weekend as the Australian Grand Prix provides the third round of the 2024 championship.
So far, the season has been dominated by off-track headlines, including Carlos Sainz being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari for 2025.
With that in mind, The Grid spoke, via AceOdds, to former F1 driver Mark Blundell to get his thoughts on Sainz’s future, and what sort of driver could fit in alongside George Russell at Mercedes for next season:
“Well, we know there’s going to be a slot at Mercedes-Benz. I really hope that there is a decent seat for Carlos. I think he really does deserve it. I’m just concerned that he’s not going to get a drive that is going to give him the platform he needs. That really means that he might have to go somewhere, a little bit of a lower-down team in terms of performance. Which then becomes a little bit of a slippery slope because it’s going to be really tough to get back into a top outfit. He’s been in some great teams, I just don’t think he’s shown his full potential yet and that’s the bigger concern for me. But I’m really hopeful that maybe Mercedes will look at him and think he’s a good fit and the right fit, maybe that will come together.
“I think it would be good for George to have somebody who is maybe a little bit different in outlook. Maybe it would be nice for him to have sort of a foreign driver that maybe has a different sort of way of going about things. I think he’s probably been overshadowed a little bit by Lewis, and rightly so in terms of Lewis’ credentials, but in saying that, I think George is now stepping up in terms of what he’s doing on track.
“I think it would be good for George to be the team leader and actually take on that mantle and actually take the team forward. And for him to be the guide that puts the pressure on the system on the teammate. Because I think he’s been on the receiving end of that. So that would be the interesting part for me, to see whether he can actually take on that road and carry it.”
Elsewhere, Alpine are struggling for results, with them seemingly taking a backwards step over the winter. We asked Mark about their start to the year and how quickly he thinks they can turn it around:
“That’s a difficult one. I mean, they just don’t seem to be having any traction and making any progress on track or off track. There seems to be a lot of fanfare over the people involved in the team and the investment, and there’s the celebrity culture there. That seems to be something that they’ve gone through the winter and made a lot of noise about, but actually on track in terms of progress made, it’s not going in the right direction whatsoever. And it’s a big problem in many ways. It’s a big outfit. A manufacturer, and they really need to do something significant.
“But I think even in recent days you’ve seen some personnel leaving there in the design team and the engineering side. It’s not going to be easy for them, they’re going to have to really regroup and restructure.”
Featured image credit: Mercedes-AMG
