George Russell was hoping to compete for the world title at Mercedes, but for now has to make do with a place behind Ferrari and Red Bull Racing. However, the driver knows well what his new team needs to do to improve the car.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes managed to secure third and fourth place with Lewis Hamilton and Russell. However, the German racing team was lucky that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both crashed out on behalf of Red Bull. Mercedes therefore still has plenty of work to do to have a chance of winning the world title.
According to Russell, it is clear where Mercedes' problems lie. "Porpoising is our biggest problem, we need to solve that," Russell told Speedweek.com. "I would say that compared to the top teams we are losing 50 percent on the straights and 50 percent in the corners."
Mercedes looking for solution
Team boss Toto Wolff does not exclude that the Mercedes engine lags behind the competition, but thinks it is too early to draw conclusions. However, this coming weekend in Saudi Arabia, Mercedes expects to have a difficult time as well.