George Russell Foresees Bleak Mercedes Future: "It's A Serious, Serious Gap"

The race winner isn't expecting miracles from his Mercedes team.

Mercedes driver George Russell is foreseeing a bleak future for his team as he compares Saudi Arabia to the upcoming race weekend at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. Explaining that there's a "serious, serious gap" between the Silver Arrows and Red Bull, he's wanting to calm expectations. 

It's once again been a difficult start to the season as Mercedes struggles to gain traction over the first two races of the F1 calendar. Lewis Hamilton finished a disappointing fifth in two consecutive races, while George Russell secured seventh and fourth places in Bahrain and Jeddah, respectively.

Even though they managed to outperform the Scuderia Ferraris at their Saudi Arabian campaign, Mercedes could not secure a spot on the podium, with that instead going to the two Red Bulls and a newly refreshed Fernando Alonso. 

Russell Foresees Similar Struggles in the Australian GP

Russell envisions the team's difficulties persisting at the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix this weekend. He shared:

"I think we'll see a similar pattern in Melbourne. The tarmac there closely resembles the circuit here, with some swift and flowing corners. I'd say the standings we've observed this weekend will likely be the same."

He highlighted the tight race among the teams, mentioning that "there are only perhaps two-tenths separating three, four, or five cars. It will likely be just as close in Melbourne."

Adopting a Pragmatic Approach to Competing with Red Bull

Russell is keen for Mercedes to maintain sensible expectations as they continue into their 2023 fight, especially against the likes of Red Bull.

"You know, it’s a serious, serious gap, and I guess everybody needs to keep working harder to understand how to close that gap," he further explained.