Red Bull is better than Mercedes in all departments according to Toto Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claims Red Bull is better than Mercedes based on pre-season testing results. Wolff believes that the RB19 can brake later into corners and accelerate earlier out of them as compared to the W14.

The Silver Arrows were nowhere compared to Red Bull over the course of the pre-season testing in Bahrain. However, the eight-time constructors' champions have made great strides compared to last year, when their challenger was riddled with porpoising from the very start.

On the contrary, Red Bull nailed the 2022 aerodynamic regulations and have expanded on their already solid base this year. The Austrian team seems to be the ones to beat once again in 2023. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are setting blazingly fast times over the course of the pre-season testing weekend.

Speaking about Mercedes' disadvantages compared to Red Bull so far:

"They brake later, are slower on corner entry anyway, accelerate much earlier and gain a huge amount of time with the better traction. If we approach the corners like that, we miss the apex completely."

The Silver Arrows' woeful state might put a question mark on Lewis Hamilton's elusive eighth title.

George Russell claims Mercedes' woes in 2023 are a 'good problem'

George Russell claims that while their 2023 challenger, the W14, is unbalanced mid-corner, the limitation is a 'good problem' to have compared to the woes they faced in 2022. The Briton claims the team has made a step in the right direction and is working on fixing their balance issues.

Russell claims the team is where they expected to be at this time of the year, after taking part in the first two days of the 2023 pre-season testing in Bahrain. The team worked all through last year to bridge their gap to Ferrari and Red Bull after the W13 was plagued with porpoising from the start of last season.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Russell spoke about the team's progress:

“I think it’s no secret when you’re watching the onboard videos that we are struggling a little bit with the balance, struggling a lot in the mid-corner. But I think it’s a balance that is probably easier to solve than what we had last year. So even though there’s still a limitation, let’s say it’s a good problem to have."

It will be interesting to see which of the Mercedes drivers emerge victorious should the team deliver a championship-winning car over the course of the 2023 season.