The phenomenon of jumping has returned to Formula 1 as a result of new cars with a ground effect, which are designed to try to help improve the race.
While some teams have managed to handle the issue better, Mercedes is one of the teams that has suffered the most.
And beyond the competitive trade-offs that the guinea pig imposed on Mercedes, Russell acknowledged that he now has to fight the pain barrier.
Speaking about how his W13 from the cockpit feels after Emilia Romagna’s GP, Russell said: “When the car is in the right window and the tires are in the right window, the car – except for bouncing – feels really good to drive.
“But jumping really takes your breath away. This is the most extreme I have ever felt.
“I really hope to find a solution and I hope that every team that struggles with jumping will find a solution, because it is not sustainable for the pilots to continue.
“This is the first weekend I’ve really struggled with my back and it’s almost like chest pain from the weight of jumping.
That’s what we need to do to go and make the fastest laps.
George Russell, Mercedes W13, makes a pit stop
Photo: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Despite the pain he was experiencing, Russell managed to get his car back home in fourth place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after holding Valteri Botas’ late Alfa Romeo shot behind him.
A year after the couple’s mass crash while fighting for a position, Russell admitted that he thought about the incident while fighting wheel to wheel.
“I definitely remembered a little last year,” he said.
“We had a problem with the pit stop, we couldn’t get the front wing in the car and it was just a big understeer and that front right just fell to pieces, it was so far from the bed with the setting.
“So I just had to cope and be ready to defend myself in the end. This track here is such an amazing circuit, so much character, but it’s just impossible to race. Especially in these mixed conditions, one opportunity to overtake, one dry line, there’s nothing you can do. “
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