Mercedes, who’ve had a slow start to 2022 will suffer similar struggles at the Australian GP this weekend according to George Russell.
After eight years of dominance, Mercedes are finally showing signs of weakness this season. In terms of car performance, they are massively falling short of both Red Bull and Ferrari.
They did get a podium finish in Bahrain, but that was thanks to both Red Bull cars suffering engine failures. At the following race in Saudi Arabia, Lewis Hamilton qualified in 16th, which shocked the entire paddock.
The thought that Mercedes would struggle so much with the new regulation changes was unfathomable. Both Hamilton and George Russell insist that they can get on par with Ferrari and Red Bull soon, but the latter believes that they aren’t make strides any time soon.
F1 returns to Australia this weekend for the first time in over two years. Many people expect Mercedes to begin their march towards the top, but Russell feels there’s no reason why that would happen.
Also read: Daniel Ricciardo insists he doesn’t regret leaving Red Bull in 2019
Mercedes to have same level of performance in upcoming races, says George Russell
There are still 21 races to go this F1 season, but if Mercedes have any hope of getting in the Title mix, they need to act quickly. Ferrari and Red Bull by far have the better car till now, and both of the Silver Arrows’ drivers are struggling behind them.
Russell, who joined Mercedes this year, has a grim prediction of the German team’s fans. He states that the performance will be on the same level as we saw in the first two races, for quite some time.
“I think will be very similar, to be honest. I don’t see any reason why we will make any strides forward,” he said. “It’s going to be more of the same level of performance in the coming races.”
“We need to be in almost damage limitation mode at the moment, pick up the pieces, when there’s an opportunity, don’t throw away unnecessary points. Even though it may just be for fifth or sixth or hopefully, a bit higher, and make sure we were within touching distance always.”
“Then, hopefully, when the car does improve, we can come back fighting,” the 23-year old continued. “It’s a very long season, I think we’ve all got confidence that if we do things right, there’s no reason why we can’t close the gap and potentially overtake the top two teams.”
Also read: Former F1 champion reveals why Daniel Ricciardo is struggling in 2022
