George Russell and Mercedes bounce back after yesterday’s setback to set 2nd fastest time in morning session

A hopeful comeback glimmered for Mercedes after George Russell put in the second-fastest lap during the morning session of the third day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The pre-season testing of Formula 1 is drawing to a close as it continues on its third day, and although Mercedes faced a few issues yesterday, George Russell put in a solid effort today to have the second-fastest lap, a little shy of Charles Leclerc's lap (+0.418) in the Ferrari. This should provide enough data for the team to work on as they head into the upcoming season with a lot more hope than how the previous season turned out.

George Russell's second day of testing didn't go perfectly well after a hydraulic issue later on in the day saw him retire to the garage early. Although the issue was minor, it prevented Mercedes from collecting more data, which they could have done if he had another chance to drive around the track. While that was a valid reason, it questioned the reliability of the W14 as well, which is expected to be a title-challenging car. However, the testing up until now has given positive data about the car, and the team is expecting to be quite competitive in the upcoming season.

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Will George Russell be able to fight for the title with the W14?

George Russell's first year at Mercedes wasn't the best for the team, but as it turned out on a personal level, the Briton had one of his best seasons in Formula 1. Coming from Williams, he had been acquainted to drive a car that wasn't the best-performing.

The W13, which was painful enough for Lewis Hamilton to drive, was a pretty good car from Russell's perspective. He consistently delivered decent performances during the season with multiple top 5 finishes, securing the team's third-place finish in the standings. Additionally, he secured a victory and beat Hamilton.

This gives hope for a potential title fight for the young Briton. However, his teammate, Hamilton, is just as optimistic about winning his eighth world championship after losing it by a bit in 2021.

Although the team will perhaps have to fight Red Bull and Ferrari for the championship, it would be interesting to see which of the drivers from Mercedes scores higher. Considering Russell's performances in the past season, a safe bet could be placed on him, but at the same time, Hamilton could turn out to be even more competitive.