George Russell Ready To Sacrifice Whole Season After Mercedes Mishap

George Russell makes a bold statement on Mercedes performance.

The F1 season has just kicked off with the Bahrain Grand Prix, and Mercedes is already facing some tough challenges. George Russell's recent admission that they may have to write off this year and plan for next season speaks volumes about the team's current state.

Before the start of the season, team principal Toto Wolff responded to Lewis Hamilton's concerns about the W14's concept by admitting that the entire car needed to be reconsidered immediately. This admission shows that the team was already aware of the challenges they would face this year.

In the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Russell finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Neither of them were able to keep up with the pace set by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who secured a dominant win for his team. This result is a stark contrast to the dominance that Mercedes has enjoyed in previous years and highlights the need for the team to reevaluate their approach.

Whilst speaking to the media, Russell said that they need to start plans for the 2024 championship now. He explained:

“We’re here to win and we obviously want to optimise every single result.

"But if you give me a choice between fighting and having a chance to win races whenever that is, versus slow progress and never having that chance, you obviously choose taking those victories.

“So if we’ve got to sacrifice some races or part of a season to give ourselves a chance to get a car that can fight, whether it’s the second half of the season or even if it’s looking towards next year, maybe that’s what we’re going to have to do because clearly we are a long way behind.”

The British driver continued:

“Red Bull have got this championship sewn up. I don’t think anybody is going to be fighting with them this year and I expect them to win.

“They should win every single race this season is my bet. With the performance they’ve got, I don’t see anybody challenging. They have got it easy at the moment. They can do what they like.

“They might not get on pole all of the time because we know that Ferrari are very competitive in qualifying. But when it comes to race pace I think they’re in a very strong position.”