"Realistically, it will be a stretch": George Russell concedes Mercedes might be playing catch-up to Red Bull and Ferrari in Bahrain

Mercedes driver George Russell feels the team might be playing catch-up at the start of the season. The German team had hinted during its 2023 F1 car launch that the early season races were going to be all about getting better and eventually fighting for the title. Trackside and even on the timesheet, the team has not made much of an impact.

Mercedes, however, appear to be a step behind the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull. Speaking to the media during the lunch break on the second day of the test, the Mercedes driver did try to sound optimistic as he reaffirmed his belief that the team can fight for the title with this car.

He did, however, concede that the team was not going to do that from the very first race of the season as the others appear to be quite competitive. George Russell said:

"I think we definitely believe eventually we will have a car capable of getting in that fight. Whether we are going to have that next weekend in Bahrain, I think may be a bit of a stretch. Red Bull look very strong, they look very stable, the car is looking really strong, and obviously Max [Verstappen] is performing really well."

He added:

"I think realistically it will be a stretch for next week, but there is no reason why eventually we can't get there at some point this year. And we've always seen the strength of Mercedes and their development rate."

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Mercedes boss remains optimistic about the season

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is optimistic about the W14. When questioned about the somewhat dodgy day for Lewis Hamilton, the Austrian said that it was more down to the set-up and the team had not revealed all its cards yet. He said:

"The car is out of balance this morning and you can see that driving, we’re leaving black marks on accelerations. It’s hot and we just didn’t find the right setup for these conditions, which is part of the learning, I guess, with the new car."

He added:

"They (Red Bull and Ferrari) are fast. No surprise there. Everybody is playing around with fuel loads and there’s a little bit of hiding on engine modes, so you can’t really judge (who is quickest). We’re still hiding a little bit."

It will be interesting to see how the German team bounces back as they cannot afford to concede too many points at the start of the season to rival teams.