Mercedes’ predicaments in Formula 1 continue, as it appeared to be the fourth-best team on the grid, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell picking P5 and P7 results, respectively. On the other hand, they were dominated by the newly found rise of Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso especially had a terrific performance and secured a podium by defeating Hamilton and Carlos Sainz by the end of the 47th lap. Hence, giving a blockbuster start to the Silverstone-based team.
Ooohhhh Fernando Alonso! 👏 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/Q0NjhLauTm
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 5, 2023
As it stands, they are the third-best team on the grid, and with that, many people on the grid, including Max Verstappen sees Alonso winning a couple of races this year. However, Russell disagrees.
George Russell sees Red Bull doing an absolute sweep
In Bahrain, Verstappen had a comfortable win. He barely had any threat to his victory except for the race-start showdown. After that, he comfortably built on his lead. It gave an absolute reflection of Sebastian Vettel’s sheer dominance in the Indian Grands Prix.
Seeing that Russell claims that Red Bull will win all the races this season. This year, F1 has the longest-ever season with 23 races, and the Mercedes star is expecting the Milton-Keynes side to do something which has never been done in the longest-recorded season.
George Russell expects Red Bull to win every single race this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/CETLLxqihe
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 5, 2023
With this statement, he contradicts Verstappen’s statement after the race, where he is predicting a race win for Alonso. Moreover, he is also dismissing his team’s chances to pick up an odd win like last year, even though they claim to make their current car better than W13.
Lewis Hamilton contradicts Russell
While Russell is ready to wager on Red Bull winning every race, his teammate Hamilton is approaching a more optimistic outlook. After the race, the seven-time world champion agreed that there is a second per-lap difference against Red Bull.
However, he thinks it can be solved to the maximum extent, and they can manage to beat Aston Martin and Ferrari even if not Red Bull. According to his feedback, the W14 is lacking in downforce, and it needs some wind-tunnel time.
So, if that’s the case, on some bad days by Red Bull, Mercedes can make the most out of the given opportunity and pick up some podiums and wins. So, maybe it won’t be a total annihilation by the current world champions.