Russell impressed with Alfa Romeo: "Most surprising team"

From the outside it's always difficult to estimate what the actual power balance is after the winter test. The teams that were close to each other last year probably know that best from each other. That is why George Russell' s comment about Alfa Romeo is remarkable.

The young Briton was pretty impressed with the Hinwil-based team after the final day of testing. "Kimi looked very quick today, I have to give him credit for that. I need to look at the data a bit more closely, but I would say at the moment they are the most surprising team," Russell is quoted as saying by Crash.net.

Alfa Romeo drove most laps

Kimi Raikkonen finished the test with the fourth-fastest time and was one of only four drivers to clock up a time under 1:30. What is also impressive is the number of laps Alfa Romeo drove without any problems. Raikkonen drove 165 laps on the third day alone and Alfa drove 422 over the course of the entire test, the most of any team.

If that team finds its way into the midfield this season it would be a surprise indeed. Last season they were the slowest of the field at many Grands Prix and due to a lack of power from the Ferrari engine they were really in a downward spiral. It was therefore generally assumed for 2021 that Williams would be able to make the biggest step thanks to their new backers.