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George Russell has confirmed that Mercedes are working around the clock to find a solution to their pace deficit against the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull.
The Silver Arrows were considerably slower than their rivals in the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Lewis Hamilton bagged an unexpected podium in Sakhir, while George Russell was their best driver in Jeddah with a P5 finish.
Speaking in an interview as the team gears up for the 2022 F1 Australian GP, George Russell said:
"Everybody is working day and night to find a solution as soon as possible. We are a bit time-limited because the only time we can test is during an FP1 or FP2 session. Equally, you have to focus on the race weekend and we only have two hours' worth of practice on a Friday per race weekend. It’s not long."
Despite already being 40 points behind Ferrari at this early stage of the campaign, Russell remains optimistic about Mercedes' chances of turning things around.
The Briton went on to add:
"Even if it goes all the way into the summer break, you’ve got so many races after that. If we continue to maximize our points and damage limitation to be within touching distance, if we come out and suddenly resolve all our issues and we are the team to beat, there’s no reason why we can’t overturn the deficit. We all have excitement that a solution can be found."
Russell joined Mercedes after three seasons with Williams. The 24-year-old signed a massive contract with the Silver Arrows to fill the void left by the departure of Valtteri Bottas.
"We are definitely not giving up" - George Russell after Mercedes' slow start to the 2022 season
George Russell has reiterated that despite Mercedes' slow start to the 2022 F1 season, the team is not giving up just yet.
Speaking to the media after his P5 finish in the Saudi Arabian GP, the Briton said:
“It’s two races. We’re definitely not out of it but if we don’t manage to find some improvements there’s no way we’ll be in with a shot of fighting for this championship. We’re definitely not giving up, we have come away from the first two races as the third-best team.”
Mercedes will now have their sights set firmly on the 2022 F1 Australian GP at a renovated Albert Park Circuit, which boasts four DRS zones.
Can the Silver Arrows bring enough pace to take advantage of this? Find out on April 10.
