George Russell, driver for Mercedes AMG F1, expressed the need for his team to analyze and understand the unexpected speed they demonstrated during the second free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix. During pre-season testing, Mercedes received positive feedback about their 2024 car, with both drivers stating it was easier to control than its predecessor. However, it was during the twilight conditions of the practice session that Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, closely followed by Russell. Despite this strong performance, Russell acknowledged that Max Verstappen still had superior race pace. He emphasized the need for Mercedes to stay grounded and not get carried away by their current performance. Russell also mentioned that they had made some changes to the car since testing, which exceeded their expectations. However, he emphasized that race pace was the crucial factor and that Mercedes still had a battle on their hands against other competitors like Alonso, Norris, and the Ferraris. Russell hoped that the performance increase was not just a one-off occurrence and that they could sustain it to secure a strong position on race day. He acknowledged that while the gap to Verstappen had decreased, the Red Bull driver still had a healthy margin ahead of the others. Therefore, Russell concluded that Mercedes had not yet reached their maximum potential and still had work to do to compete with the top competitors.
In a recent interview, Hamilton expressed agreement with his teammate’s opinions, acknowledging that Mercedes needs to make improvements to compete with Red Bull. Hamilton admitted that it was surprising to see their current position, but they would accept it for now. However, he emphasized the importance of staying focused and continuing to work on the car setup to extract more performance. Hamilton also acknowledged that his pace in long races is far behind that of the Red Bulls, indicating that there is still much work to be done. When asked about his chances of securing a podium finish in the race, Hamilton remained cautious but believed they would be in contention. He mentioned Ferrari, Aston Martin, and McLaren as potential competitors and anticipated a fierce and exciting battle. Hamilton also noted that if Max, referring to Max Verstappen, is leading the race, he will likely maintain his dominance as he has done in previous years.
