Mercedes star makes SAD championship battle admission

One of Mercedes' star drivers has admitted it's been a 'bloody challenging' spell for the iconic Formula 1 team.

The Brackley-based outfit won eight constructors' championships during an imperious spell between 2014-2021, led by Lewis Hamilton, who picked up six world titles in that period.

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However, Red Bull have since emerged as the sport's dominant team, and look on course to add a third consecutive championship this season.

In less than three years, Mercedes have gone from title challengers to a team struggling to break into the top three, and currently find themselves trailing Ferrari and McLaren in the standings.

Hamilton - set to join Ferrari next season - and team-mate George Russell, have each endured torrid campaigns so far, and have both frequently bemoaned their lack of performance.

Pressure weighs heavy on former champions

Signs of improvement came at last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, with Russell finishing third, one place ahead of Hamilton, to secure the team's best result of the year.

Both drivers will hope to build on their improved performances at the next race in Barcelona as they look to drag Mercedes back towards the top of the grid.

Speaking to media in Montreal, Russell admitted that it has been difficult to deal with the 'relative failure' they've experienced in recent years, and made the sad admission that not even Ferrari are likely to be in a championship battle with the dominant Red Bull team.

He said: “I think everybody’s had some challenges along the way - take Red Bull out of the equation, who have found themselves on a great path and been able to do it, but we’ve all found ourselves in catch-up mode.

"Ferrari were well ahead of us in 2022 - they fell behind us in ’23 and now they’re just ahead, but they’re still not fighting for the championship right now.

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“And McLaren had a tough couple of years, now they’re back at the front where they were 15 years ago.

“There was a lot of scrutiny on Mercedes about the relative failure that we’ve had.

"But this is Formula 1, it’s bloody challenging, and there’s so many great teams and designers up and down this field."

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