George Russell: Mercedes could find itself in 'a little bit more of a struggle' at 2022 F1 Japanese GP

Mercedes driver George Russell believes that his team might face a tough weekend in Japan. He backed this up by stating how the Red Bulls and Ferraris are still far ahead.

Russell led Mercedes by one-two in FP2 at the Japanese GP on Friday. Speaking to the media on Thursday, he claimed:

“I mean, I’d love for it to be as competitive as it was last weekend, but I think it’s going to be a little bit more of a struggle. I think Ferrari have been very fast in the medium, high-speed corners this year. The Red Bulls have been really slippery down the straights, which obviously, with only the one DRS zone here, they’ll probably be in a good place as well. "

Russell further reflected on Mercedes' car performance on different circuits:

“I think these races, especially post-summer break, we’re getting a really clear trend of where our car is working well and where it’s not working and it’s given us a really sort of clear development direction to go down. "

Ahead of Saturday's qualifying, Russell and Lewis Hamilton could only manage P6 and P7 during FP3.

---

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton claims to be happier despite being winless in 2022

Mercedes star driver Lewis Hamilton recently opened up about his current state of mind and personal life. The Briton believes that not winning has been transitional for him in many ways.

Speaking to Sky Sports about his personal life, the driver claimed:

"It's been a good period, transitional. I definitely feel I'm happier than I've ever been, which is really strange because I'm not winning in racing, and that's really been my go-to thing. Having success there would bring me so much happiness, but I'm finding more happiness in my personal life now, just being more comfortable in who I am, and my surroundings and my intentions."

Mercedes failed to produce the most competitive car this year. In fact, for most of the year, the Silver Arrows remained only the third fastest on the grid. Consequently, this is the first time in a long while that Hamilton has gone without winning a single race all season.

With five more races to go this year, many hope for the team to manage a miraculous turn of events and somehow treat themselves to a win. However, this will surely not be an easy task for the team.