"I don't think it is representative" - Mercedes driver advises not to 'read too much into' team's testing performance

Both Mercedes drivers finished the first session of pre-season testing in Barcelona at the top, with Lewis Hamilton just under a tenth faster than George Russell. The former Williams driver, however, has warned fans not to take too much from the result.

Russell claimed that it was still very early days and that the cars are not representative of where they are expected to stand in Bahrain for testing, let alone the season opener. As reported by GPFans, the 24-year-old shared his thoughts from the Barcelona testing session, saying:

“Lap time-wise, I don’t think it is representative at all, we were on the softest compound of tyres and the C5 tyre is a very strong tyre around this track so even though we were on the top of the timesheet, I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

Commenting on the comparison with other teams, he further said:

“I think the Ferrari and the Mclaren were looking incredibly strong and we have got some improvements to be made as we are not fully happy with the balance of the car and the limitations we have currently. But at the end of the day, it is only testing, I think we have made some good experiments and have a good indication of the developments we need.”

The Silver Arrows returned to the track with hopes of continuing their dominance and certainly looked strong at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This year, however, ushers in a new generation of F1. The Bahrain testing session is expected to give a real idea of where the team stands this season.

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George Russell of Mercedes not necessarily eyeing maiden title in 2022

After three years at Williams, George Russell has joined Lewis Hamilton at eight-time champions, Mercedes. The young Briton, however, recently revealed that he is not really thinking about the title outcome for the season. Taking each session as it comes, Russell aims to focus on the process and push his limits without really thinking about a maiden championship title just yet.

As reported by F1.com, the 24-year-old said:

“It’s not even something I’m thinking about, to be honest. I think it’s quite incredible how racing drivers’ minds work, that when you put the helmet on – doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for a win or, for me for the last few years, fighting at the back of the grid – you always get on with the exact same mindset.”

Lewis Hamilton is determined to fight for his record-breaking eighth championship title this season. Meanwhile, George Russell is going to take his first of possibly many seasons with Mercedes to learn and adapt.