George Russell insists Red Bull are holding back and 'embarrassed' about true pace

Russell in Australia — Photo: © LAT Images

George Russell

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Russell insists Red Bull are holding back and 'embarrassed' about true pace

The Mercedes driver was brutally honest in an interview with the BBC following the Australian Grand Prix

Joe Ellis

Monday 3 April 2023 17:02 Updated: 18:32

George Russell believes Red Bull are embarrassed to show their true potential despite winning the opening three races.

Max Verstappen had a comfortable lead before the first of two late red flags that caused chaos at the Australian Grand Prix.

Russell had taken the lead early on but he dropped back through the field after a pit stop under the safety car which then turned into a red flag.

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The British driver is adamant that Red Bull are not truly giving it their all yet in 2023 to avoid having rules put in place to slow them down, before retiring after his engine caught fire.

George Russell's race ended in spectacular fashion after an engine failure

Embarrassed

“For sure they’re holding back,” Russell told the BBC Chequered Flag podcast. “They’re almost embarrassed to show their full potential because the faster they seem globally, the more that the sport is going to try and hold them back somehow.

“Realistically, they have around seven-tenths advantage over the rest of the field. Max has got no reason to be pushing it at the moment and neither does Red Bull.”

Russell's Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, did bring his W14 home in second to represent the best result of 2023 so far for the Silver Arrows.

Narrowing gap

While Red Bull have taken pole position and victory in all three races so far in 2023, the gap between themselves and the rest is getting narrower with every race.

Verstappen had to get his elbows out at the final restart

Russell was only two-tenths of a second away from Verstappen at Albert Park in qualifying having been nearly a second away in Bahrain on ultimate pace.

Fernando Alonso even labelled his qualifying in Melbourne as the best of the season so far despite being second on the grid in Saudi Arabia.

The Spaniard feels that the gap to Red Bull is more important than the position he starts at this stage in the season, proving they're the measuring stick for everyone.