Russell not expecting gap to top teams: 'Half a second a lap'

George Russell believes Mercedes need to improve a few things for Sunday's race. The Briton could not keep up with the pace of the Ferraris and Red Bull. He crossed the finish line a long way behind them.

"First, thank you to everyone in the garage to get the car ready today. It was a huge team effort, so it was good to get points on the board." Russell told Mercedes' press release. On Friday, the Briton crashed into the wall in qualifying, as did team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes had to work through the night to get the cars ready for Saturday.

In the sprint race, Russell finished P4. The Briton could not keep up with the pace of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while Mercedes looked fast in qualifying.

"As for the performance, the gap was more than we were expecting. We were 13 seconds behind after 23 laps, so that's nearly half a second per lap. We need to work overnight to understand why we dropped off the pace. Small things can make a difference - the tyres weren't easy to manage, and different approaches to downforce levels will play a part tomorrow. But we are in no doubt that we've got work to do." said Russell.