George Russell dejected after 'really difficult' 2023 F1 Bahrain GP: "We need to hit the drawing board tomorrow"

George Russell admitted that Mercedes struggled quite a lot in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP. The Silver Arrows are aiming to bounce back from a bad 2022 F1 season, but so far have been unable to do so. Right from pre-season testing to all the race weekend sessions in Bahrain, the British team did not look good in terms of performance.

After the race, Russell sorrowfully expressed how it was a tough race for Mercedes. He declared that his team would not settle for anything less than a race win. Hence, Mercedes plans to regroup and start working on all the issues as soon as possible. Russell said:

"It was just a really difficult race for us. I think probably making a better race start and Lewis and I were on a similar strategy. Perhaps if I was ahead of him on lap one, I would have ended where he was just because of the nature of how things were. P5, P7, P6, whatever it is, we don't really care, we are here to fight for victories. We need to hit the drawing board tomorrow and see how we go from there."

George Russell also explained how being slower than other drivers did not feel good during the race. Though the Briton was happy to battle for points, he felt helpless when drivers like Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, and even Carlos Sainz were a few tenths faster than him. He added:

"It depends in the mix for what really. I think we obviously had a good battle at points but I think both of us were on the backfoot and you feel a little bit helpless when you are lapping a couple of tenths compared to the cars around you. You are trying your best to battle with them but you just can't hold them up. I think Fernando, and Lance as well, were really, really strong and Carlos, we were on a slightly more level playing field."

Russell finished seventh in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, ended up in fifth.

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George Russell admits that Red Bull are miles ahead of everyone

Almost every single team and driver has acknowledged that Red Bull looked extremely strong at the start of the 2023 F1 season. Mercedes driver George Russell was also one of those who mentioned how Red Bull were 'in a league of their own' while speaking at the drivers' press conference before the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP. He said:

"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."

As predicted by George Russell, Mercedes had some brilliant wheel-to-wheel battles with Aston Martin and Ferrari in the main race.