© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
George Russell says Mercedes “definitely believe eventually we will have a car capable of getting into that fight”, but at the Bahrain Grand Prix it’s “a bit of a stretch”.
After the first day of pre-season testing, George Russell said Mercedes is in a much happier place now than they were at the same time last year.
However, he says it might take some time before the team will be able to challenge the frontrunners.
“In terms of feeling, it feels a step in the right direction,” the Briton said.
“But as we know in the sport, it’s not all about feeling, it is ultimately about lap time. I think comparing to this time 12 months ago, things are running a lot smoother.
“Obviously when we were here last year, there were a lot of alarm bells ringing with the porpoising, unsure how to solve it.
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“We were a bit lost, the car characteristics were not good. So I think things have been running much smoother. Reliability has been strong so far to allow us to do the test programme.
“For sure, we’ve got things we need to improve with the car, but I would say, generally speaking, we’re roughly where we would have expected to be at this time of year.”
In the morning session of day 2, Lewis Hamilton seemed to struggle a bit with the rear of his car, but Russell says it’s better to have to deal with car balance than with more fundamental issues.
“The entry phase has been improved. I think it’s no secret when you’re watching the onboards and the videos that we are struggling a little bit with the balance, struggling a lot in the mid-corner.
“Eventually we will have a car capable of getting into that fight, but I think it’s a balance that is probably easier to solve than we had last year.
“So even though it’s still a limitation, I think, let’s say, it’s a good problem to have.”
Ultimately, Russell is very careful when predicting how well the car will be able to perform next week at the first race in Bahrain.
“You definitely head into the season believing. Every point of my career, I’ve always gone in believing that you need to take a rational view once you get to the track and you learn.
“I think we definitely believe eventually we will have a car capable of getting into that fight. Whether we’re going to have that next weekend in Bahrain, I think may be a bit of a stretch.
“They look very strong, they look very stable. The car’s looking really strong and obviously Max’s performing really well. So I think realistically it will be a stretch for next week.
“But there’s no reason why eventually we can’t get there at some point this year. We’ve always seen the strength of Mercedes and their development rate.
“So definitely the belief is there,” Russell concluded.
