Mercedes urged to "take more risks" in Ferrari Red Bull hunt

George Russell has called on Mercedes to "take a few more risks" in its bid to close the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull.

Mercedes openly recognised after the season-opening weekend in Bahrain that it is only the third-quickest team, with Lewis Hamilton almost seven-tenths off the pace of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in qualifying.

An individual error left Russell a second further back but the Mercedes pairing were able to rally in the race to finish third and fourth, their positions elevated after the late retirements of both Red Bull cars.

Comparing his current situation at Mercedes to his previous three-year spell at Williams, Russell explained: "For me personally, it feels a similar position to what I found myself in in the previous years.

"The competitors ahead of us are so far in front and we do have a bit of a buffer behind that we can almost afford to take a few more risks to try and make up that gap."

Russell highlights Mercedes intrigue

Despite the pace difference to the top two teams, Mercedes left Bahrain second in the constructors' championship on 27 points.

Conceding his first weekend as a Mercedes factory driver was "fine [but] nothing spectacular," Russell added there is "always more to come" from both the team and himself as a driver.

“I qualified ninth and we had the pace to get back up through the field to P5, P6, so we’re in a bit of an intriguing spot right now that we can try a few things," added Russell.

“But ultimately, there is more to come from all of us - myself, Lewis, the whole team - and we just need to keep on working.”

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