Russell fearing slow 2023 start for Mercedes
Russell fearing slow 2023 start for Mercedes
George Russell is braced for a slow Mercedes start to the year after a troublesome second day of testing.
The W14 has proven to be a step forward from its predecessor, the W13, with porpoising apparently an issue of the past.
But the second day in Bahrain saw Lewis Hamilton struggle with the balance of his car before Russell lost over 90 minutes of testing time when stopping on track with a hydraulic failure.
READ MORE: Hamilton struggling with Mercedes W14 – Wolff reveals 'issues'
"It was a pretty smooth test [until], unfortunately, we had the issue so we lost a lot of running," explained Russell.
"But we have uncovered some interesting things in the data that hopefully will find us some more lap time so we have got to take the positives."
Mercedes not on back foot
With Red Bull and, in particular, Max Verstappen comfortable at the top of the timesheets in two of the first four sessions and the Dutchman second in his third run, the championship-winning team looks ominous ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.
Asked if Mercedes was on the back foot, Russell insisted: "I wouldn't say on the back foot, this team has a history of being very good on development throughout the season.
"It is important not to throw everything into one basket when it comes to delivering the optimum package for race one, it is making sure you have a package you can easily develop from and maybe find greater performance later down the line.
"If I had to tell you how it is going to pan out next week, I reckon we are going to be a little bit behind Red Bull, they are in a strong state at the moment but we haven't unlocked everything yet.
"I would like to think eventually, we will be catching them back up."
READ MORE: Red Bull latest cause of F1 testing red flags
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Horner delivers Newey VERDICT as design guru's Red Bull exit is confirmed
- 18 minutes ago
F1 team boss responds to Red Bull's Marko 'offer' claims
- 1 hour ago
F1 champion SLAMS 'pointless' motorsport crossover
- 2 hours ago
Why Adrian Newey is the BEST and WORST thing to happen to F1
- 3 hours ago
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 3 hours ago
Adrian Newey: The real F1 MVP and genius behind Red Bull domination
- Today 13:10
- 1
Related news
Hamilton, Verstappen and EVERY F1 teams' reaction to pre-season testing
Who led the lap count? Each driver and team's laps completed in pre-season testing
Perez ends F1 testing how Verstappen started as Red Bull underline favourite tag
Horner: Verstappen in 'great shape' after impressive test
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860