George Russell is not impressed with where Mercedes is at the moment. The new-fangled Mercedes driver puts Ferrari and McLaren forward as the strongest teams for the time being.
While Lando Norris was the fastest on day 1 of the tests in Barcelona, Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari men hit the mark on day 2. Daniel Ricciardo was once again in good shape in his McLaren at the Circuit de Catalunya. He managed to score the third fastest time in Barcelona. Day 2 was a lot more difficult for Mercedes. George Russell was still fourth in the afternoon, but Lewis Hamilton’s fastest time in the morning was only good for P16.
Backlog
Also in terms of the number of laps driven, it was not a great day for the to say the least silver arrows† Russell is open and honest after the tests and talks about Mercedes’ difficult first two days. “We all know that we use different programs, but we can just look at the averages and then we see that we are currently behind them. We have to wait and see,” explains the Briton.
Red and orange team
He further explains who Russell means by ‘them’, without explicitly naming names. “Some teams, I’m referring to a red team and orange team in particular, look very competitive. Mercedes is definitely not ahead of them, I’m pretty sure. They are on top every time and look strong with both high and low fuel in the car and with the tire management. Who knows!”
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