"It felt processional from where we were" - George Russell says Mercedes 'will have to do something different' for the 2022 F1 Imola GP

George Russell, who currently stands third in the drivers' standings behind the two Ferraris, has had a disappointing weekend at Imola so far. He could not make it to Q3 in yesterday's qualifying and was unable to make up any positions in the sprint race earlier today.

In a post-sprint media interaction, Russell claimed that Mercedes had overachieved in the first three races and now find themselves way behind where they would have expected to be in the Imola Grand Prix. The Briton said:

“It is tricky in these sprint races. It felt processional from where we were. We have work to do. Strategy will be key tomorrow and we will have to do something different from others and give us the opportunity to fight and move up the grid. It has been a difficult weekend for us. We probably overachieved in the first three races and this weekend we are probably behind where we want to be.”

It has been an absolute nightmare of a weekend for Mercedes so far. The team has been vocal about its struggles since the beginning of the pre-season testing sessions. Red Bull's issues with reliability have cost it significant points so far this year, which in turn put the Silver Arrows in a decent position within the championship. As Red Bull has managed to improve with every race, it is unlikely that Mercedes will be able to maintain their number two position for too long.

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"We are just too far behind" - George Russell on closing the gap to Leclerc

George Russell entered the Imola Grand Prix behind Charles Leclerc in the drivers' standings. The Briton was unable to score a point in Saturday's sprint race while Carlos Sainz scored five points with a fourth-place finish, putting the former back in third.

Ahead of the Imola GP, George Russell was asked whether the team could close the gap to Ferrari this weekend. To this, he replied, saying:

“No. I mean there’s nothing substantial that’s going to make a drastic difference this weekend. We’re constantly trying new bits and pieces but in terms of an overall result, we are just too far behind to make a substantial difference in terms of overall results. So, we hope we are going to continue to close this gap but I still think it’s too early in the season for us to make that deficit close up. We just need to keep going out there this weekend, another opportunity because it’s going to be mixed conditions and we need to make the most of that.”

Both Mercedes drivers will start the main race on Sunday from outside the top ten and will certainly have to push their limits to score points this weekend.