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Russell admits Mercedes 'have work to do' before Emilia Romagna GP

Russell admits Mercedes 'have work to do' before Emilia Romagna GP

23-04-2022 17:14 Last update: 19:06
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Cameron Smith

George Russell admits that Mercedes have plenty of work to do ahead of Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after their disappointing sprint race. Russell, 24, finished in 11th place, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton saw the chequered flag in an even more lowly P14.

After winning the Constructors' Championship in 2021, Mercedes were one of the favourites heading into this season, but that hasn't been the case. It has come as a disappointment for Russell who left Williams to join a team he thought would give him a car capable of competiting for race wins.

However, both drivers missed out on points on Saturday in Imola, which provided the team with a wake-up call according to Russell. The British driver was quickest of all during FP2 early on Saturday, but that pace was nulified in the race by a DRS train that appeared in the midfield.

What has Russell said?

Russell told Sky Sports after the sprint race: "It's tricky these sprint races. It felt processional from the position where we were and the race wasn't long enough to get some tyre deg there and have big difference between drivers and cars."

The former F2 champion admitted the sprint race wasn't an accurate representation of their speed, but is concerned about how quick they'll be on Sunday. "We have work to do," he said. "The car is faster, but we don't have the speed on the straight to pull forward. I think strategy is going to be key and we are going to have to do something different to our competition and then that will give us an opportunity to fight and move up the grid."

Despite the aforementioned encouraging FP2, Russell acknowledged: "It's clearly been a difficult weekend for us. We probably overachieved in the first three races and this weekend we are probably behind where we deserve to be." He also explained where their issues may lie: "I think we know why its that tyre warm up has been really difficult. When it was a really cold day yesterday (13 degrees) that is when we saw the Haas' excel and the McLaren's who have difficult race pace but good one lap pace." He concluded by announcing: "We will try and get on top of things."