Mercedes’ results at Bahrain GP 'extraordinary', says George Russell

George Russell feels Mercedes’ results at the 2022 season opener in Bahrain were “extraordinary”, despite both cars finishing in the top 4. The reigning F1 constructors' world champions struggled for pace at the Bahrain GP and Russell feels that the team has work to do before they can expect top 5 finishes at genuine pace.

Speaking at a post-race press conference, the Briton said:

“We got to say the positives, I made a good start made of two positions on that one felt comfortable within the car. But we know where we’re at the moment, to be honest. We probably didn’t get the balance quite right. But that isn’t the main limitation as well.”

He then went on to describe Mercedes' performance despite their issues, saying:

“You know, we’ve got this overarching issue with the bouncing. And I think to come away with P3 and P4 for the team is extraordinary. And I know it wasn’t on pure pace. But, you know, this is a race car, and everything has to work. So, we got to take it and we got to be pleased.”

At the Bahrain GP, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari, let alone challenge them for the top 5 positions. At times, they even looked to be under threat from Kevin Magnussen's fast-charging Haas.

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Mercedes were still “testing” in Bahrain GP, claims Russell

George Russell has claimed that Mercedes approached the Bahrain GP more like testing, rather than an F1 race. The team reportedly focussed entirely on dialing in the W13’s issues, rather than trying to focus on extracting performance. Speaking to the media during the post-race session, Russell said:

“Before the race, Toto [Wolff] and I had a little chat. He said, ‘look, this is a test session.’ So, I think we can be pleased [with the results]. Knowing that there is a huge amount performance there, but we got to be realistic and recognize we are a long way behind our rivals. So, we know there’s more to come but they are a real step ahead of us. So, we got to see.”

Mercedes have been on the back foot since pre-season testing, when they debuted their radical “no-sidepod” design. The car seems to have a lot of performance but has been struggling heavily with porpoising, limiting the team from extracting that performance.

According to some estimates, the compromises that Mercedes have had to make to stop proposing might be costing the team upwards of seven-tenths of a second in single-lap performance.

Further supporting these estimates was the team’s performance in the middle sector of the Bahrain GP, where both Hamilton and Russell were easily the fastest on the grid. They, however, lost all their gains at the end of the straights due to porpoising.