Mercedes drivers after test days: 'Not quite where we want to be"

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mercedes reaction after third day of testing
25 February 2023 at 18:01
Last update 25 February 2023 at 22:20
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  • GPblog.com

Toto Wolff did not sound happy ahead of the second day of testing. The Mercedes team boss acknowledged that Red Bull Racing are too strong at the moment and even after the final day in Bahrain, that has not changed, although there are signs of recovery. Lewis Hamilton may have been second fastest, but Sergio Pérez was more than three tenths faster on a compound harder. At Mercedes, they know there is still a scoop to be made.

After the three days of testing, Hamilton says: "It has been an interesting few days here in Bahrain. There has been a lot of discovery and the whole team has approached it with the same mentality, working hard, not being complacent and staying focused. We're not quite where we want to be but it's a good platform to start from. We don't know where we will be next week, but we will stay positive and continue to push to the maximum."

Russell moderately positive

George Russell likewise does not really comment on the performance of the W14. At least the one-time Grand Prix winner is that Saturday went a lot more positively than Friday. The 25-year-old Briton sounds a lot more positive than Wolff this morning.

"We had a much more positive day today. We took a step forward and made progress with the issues we faced yesterday. I believe we have improved the car over the course of testing and got the W14 in a much better window today. There is still plenty of work to do but we're in better shape for next week with more to come."