"There's nothing substantial that's going to make a drastic difference" - George Russell calls it 'too early' for Mercedes to make up deficit to the top teams

George Russell believes it is difficult for Mercedes to close the gap to the front as nothing has made a difference to their performance so far. The Briton believes they need to make the most of the mixed weather conditions at Imola to surge any further than their car package allows them to.

When asked in a press conference ahead of the Imola GP if their upgrades will make a difference, the Mercedes driver replied:

“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.”

According to the Mercedes driver, the new upgrades they have brought to Imola might not make a significant impact in terms of propelling them to the front. George Russell believes the upgrades will not be enough to change the result and make up the performance deficit.

Outlining the team’s expectations from the Imola GP weekend, Russell said:

“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.”

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George Russell believes their current result in the championship is the furthest Mercedes can get

While the Briton is second in the championship after consecutive points finishes in the first three races, he believes that is the furthest his team can get in terms of results. When it came to performance, George Russell believes Mercedes are almost a second adrift off both Ferrari and Red Bull.

On being asked if P2 in the championship is the furthest the team gets, the Briton replied:

“I think in terms of results, probably. There’s obviously always more performance you can get from every single time you hit the circuit. I think it’s been a reasonable start with the package we’ve got. I think we can come away from the first three races thinking we got some good results with the pace deficit we have to Ferrari and Red Bull. We think we’re seven-tenths to a second behind them, yet we’re sitting P2 in the Championship. But we know that we won’t maintain this position unless we find more performance. So, you know, we need to keep on pushing.”

Both Mercedes drivers failed to make it out of Q2 in qualifying ahead of the Imola GP. It was the first time since 2012 that both Mercedes cars have not made it past Q2. While George Russell qualified 11th, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified 13th ahead of the sprint race at Imola.