George Russell On Fight For Second Place - "Red Bull Are In A League Of Their Own"

The Mercedes driver feels the team will be competitive at the top of the grid at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mercedes driver George Russell has reflected on the pre-season testing last week whilst looking ahead to the 2023 season which will start with the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. 

When asked how the team was feeling after the pre-season testing in which they had some difficulties on the second day, the British driver responded:

"Yeah, it probably wasn't the smoothest three days we could have hoped for. 

"The learnings, the findings we found I think is going to put us in better stead for this weekend. 

The Mercedes driver added that the team are considering Ferrari and Aston Martin as their main rivalries as "Red Bull are in a league of their own". Russell also confirmed that the team are setting their sights on fighting for a second place finish at the season opening race in Bahrain.

Russell continued:

"But I think it's definitely fair to say Red Bull are in a bit of a league of our own.

"This weekend here in Bahrain, I think it would probably be a nice fight for second place, probably between Ferrari and Aston Martin."

Teams will have been holding back some performance during the pre-season testing last week. So, fans will only be able to see the true competitiveness of the teams during this weekend. 

The first two free practice sessions will take place tomorrow ahead of the third session and qualifying on Saturday. The race will take place on Sunday.