“I don’t think they’re exceptional” – George Russell admits Mercedes needs to be better to take on arch-rivals Red Bull and Ferrari this season.
George Russell has joined defending champions Mercedes with huge expectations this season. The former Williams driver is a future world champion, and is expected to do so with the Silver Arrows.
But their start hasn’t been of that level, with issues coming up during testing in Bahrain, especially with “bouncing” and comfort with the car.
“I think it’s been pretty productive but very intriguing at the same time. Obviously so much to learn about these 2022 cars, with the tyres. It’s pretty clear some of the issues that a lot of the teams faced with the bouncing, just trying to get on top of that really.
“Yes, it’s definitely bouncing around a lot from within, it’s not the comfiest in all honesty. I don’t really care about comfort if the performance is there but at the moment the performance isn’t there.”
W13’s been on a diet since Barcelona! We still have a lot of work to do but proud of how hard this team is pushing. 👊 pic.twitter.com/n1nrMFTrbp
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) March 10, 2022
Red Bull/Ferrari > Mercedes
George Russell has admitted Red Bull and Ferrari currently have an advantage over Mercedes, but that’s down to their own misery, and not the other two team’s strong showing.
He is hoping they get to the bottom of the issues quick, in time for the 2022 season-opener in Bahrain the coming weekend.
“We are a step behind our rivals, and we do have a lot of work to do between now and next week to understand, because in every condition the Red Bull and the Ferrari seem a step ahead of us.
“I don’t think they’re exceptional. I think we’re probably not as competitive as we would like.
“I believe the guys are going get to the bottom of it; there is potential there, we just need to figure out a way to unlock that performance.”
