"Anyone who thinks 3 days of testing isn't enough, is a fool": George Russell's cry for more testing days didn't sit well with F1 pundit

F1 pundit and commentator Ted Kravitz disagrees with George Russell's demand for more time for pre-season testing. This year, F1 teams and drivers have only had three days of testing in Bahrain, whereas they usually get two of these sessions in different locations. Although drivers and teams didn't like the shortened testing sessions, Ted Kravitz claimed that fans of the sport would have liked it.

In a Sky Sports YouTube video, Ted Kravitz strongly disagreed with George Russell on the length of the testing period. The F1 pundit explained how drivers and teams had enough time to do their qualifying and race simulations to see how the car was running:

"Anyone who said that 'three days of testing was not enough' is a fool, basically. Because it was enough, there was loads of running, people doing three Grand Prix distances because the reliability was so good. So, it [three days of testing] is fine."

Kravitz further explained how it's natural that George Russell and other drivers would like to have more days of testing simply because they want to improve the car as much as possible before the season begins. However, a longer pre-season period would solidify every team's performance and reduce the unpredictability, making the sport boring:

"He [George Russell] is a driver, so he wants more practice, which is valid. The engineers want more so they can do their engineering things, which is not valid. It's interesting because they will all get to the first race slightly undercooked, apart from Red Bull. But it's much better for us viewers, us fans, to get to the first race and have something going on rather than a procession."

---

George Russell admits that Red Bull 'are in a league of their own' ahead of the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP

During the drivers' press conference, George Russell spoke about Mercedes' performance in pre-season testing, but also admitted that Red Bull looked ominously strong and were miles ahead of everyone else. Lastly, he stated that Mercedes will most likely complete with Ferrari and Aston Martin in the Bahrain GP. In this regard, the British driver stated:

"It probably wasn’t the smoothest three days we could have hoped for at testing. But the learning we found is going to put us in better stead for this weekend. But I think it’s definitely fair to say Red Bull are in a league of their own this weekend in Bahrain. It'll probably be a nice fight for second between Ferrari and Aston Martin."

While most teams don't reveal the true potential of their cars in testing, it's safe to say that Red Bull are several positions ahead of Mercedes. Although the Silver Arrows might not be starting their 2023 F1 season on a high note, Russell believes that the team will pick up the pace after a few races.