“They look very strong"- Mercedes driver claims McLaren and Ferrari ahead of them

Mercedes driver George Russell claims McLaren and Ferrari are ahead of his team in terms of performance after two days of testing. The British driver claimed both the Scarlet and Papaya Orange squads were looking competitive and were managing all their parameters well.

Speaking to reporters after the second day of the test in Barcelona, Russell said:

“Some teams are looking fast, a red team and an orange team, in particular, look very very competitive, so let’s see what tomorrow brings and what we can do between this test and Bahrain... They seem to have things well under control and they look very strong, low fuel and high fuel, and with the tire management.”

Suggesting that both Ferrari and McLaren are more competitive than his team, Russell believes they have most of their parameters such as tire management in control. The British driver believes his team is on the back foot in Barcelona but has room to improve until the second test in Bahrain.

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George Russell believes Barcelona test will not decide championship for Mercedes

The Mercedes driver believes the championship is not won in winter testing but did admit that his team was behind when compared to McLaren and Ferrari. Russell believes different teams are on different programs, but the performance averages do indicate Mercedes’ struggles.

Admitting Mercedes being on the back foot after two days of testing, Russell said:

“Certainly not ahead, pretty sure of that. Who knows? We all know that we’re on different programs, but we definitely know from the average of all of the different runs, we’re behind them at the moment. Let’s wait and see. The championship is not won in Barcelona in winter testing. But it’s certainly been an intriguing two days so far.”

The Silver Arrows' drivers have not been able to rack up significant amounts of mileage in two days as compared to their counterparts. Russell has completed 142 laps in two days, but his team-mate Lewis Hamilton managed less than 100 laps in both days, with a total of 90 laps.

In two days of testing, the Ferrari drivers combined have completed 302 laps and the McLaren drivers have completed 229 laps. With lap time holding less significance during the test, mileage is an indicator of the team’s progress.