Why Russell is no longer as concerned about Red Bull’s ‘scary’ RB22 weapon

12:41, 20 Feb

Updated: 14:18, 20 Feb

3 Comments

byTobia Elia

George Russell has once again spoken about the RB22’s effectiveness in terms of energy deployment.

“I think the Mercedes-powered teams have made a lot of improvements since day one of Bahrain last week, so that gap has closed drastically.”

- George Russell

Last week, during the opening test session in Bahrain, the Mercedes driver highlighted the RB22’s impressive ability to maximise energy usage, even suggesting there was a gap “in the order of half a second to a second in deployment over the course of a lap.”

Speaking at Friday's press conference on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Russell said he still believes Red Bull hold an advantage, although the gap to the Mercedes-powered teams has narrowed significantly.

“Their deployment definitely still looks the best on the grid, which is kudos to them. And I think it was a bit of a surprise to everybody. I think let’s see come Melbourne how things shake up.

“I think the Mercedes-powered teams have made a lot of improvements since day one of Bahrain last week, so that gap has closed drastically. We’re obviously on day six of Bahrain testing now, whereas in Melbourne you’ve got three hours of practice, and that’s the main point of the concern.”

Photo: Race Pictures

Join GPblog LIVE for the final afternoon of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The morning session passed without major drama, aside from the problem that forced Antonelli’s W17 into the garage — the only significant moment of the day up to that point.

Attention now shifts to the final afternoon, where teams are set to complete their last race simulations while also turning their focus to qualifying-style runs in conditions expected to mirror those of April’s Grand Prix weekend.

Stay up to date with every development right here.