Russell concedes: 'Red Bull is in a class of its own'

"There's definitely a plan in place," Russell says as he goes through Sky Sports asked if Mercedes has a plan to overcome its disappointing start to the season. However, the Mercedes driver dares not say when the W14 will become more competitive and victories can be thought of again. "That is an impossible question to answer," he said.

The British driver's biggest argument is that he does not know how quickly the competition manages to improve during the time his German employer is busy recovering from the wrong direction taken over the winter. "We don't know how much competitors will be improving during that time, we'd like to think we can find some performance sooner than later. But when I say that it’s not this weekend, it’s a few races down the line.”

Preaching realism, he expects Mercedes to have a particularly tough time for now. "It will be difficult for a few races, Red Bull is a class apart. We just have to concentrate on ourselves, and once we are on the right track, we might find performance faster than we expect, who knows?" As to who will finish first and second in Jeddah, Russell already knows: "I see them on for a one-two."