GEORGE RUSSELL claims a Mercedes F1 rival have a “scary” advantage over the field.
The Brit, 27, made the declaration over Red Bull as he outlined just how dangerous they will be in the season ahead.
He insists they are NOT just a little bit ahead and the first of two pre-season tests in Bahrain have been an “eye-opening” experience.
He explained: “They’re not just a small step ahead.
“You’re talking in the order of half a second to a second in deployment over the course of a lap.
“It’s pretty scary to see that difference.
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“And Red Bull have always delivered a very good car over the past 15 years, even when they didn’t have a great engine.
“So, yeah, this test has been really eye-opening for a lot of us.”
Russell and his Mercedes team noticed the strength of Red Bull before Bahrain during a ‘shakedown’ test in Spain last month.
That day in Barcelona was enough to convince him that they will be the team to beat at this stage after “knocking it out the park.”
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He added: “The truth is, Red Bull in Barcelona day one hit the ground running and were well ahead of all of their competitors – ourselves, Ferrari and the others.
“Day one here in Bahrain again, they sort of knocked it out of the park.
“At the moment, they’re very much the team to beat.
“When you get to Melbourne and you’ve got three hours of practice before qualifying, based on what we’ve seen in Barcelona and Bahrain, Red Bull are going to be ahead.”
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Charles Leclerc of Ferrari has also been impressed – but isn’t taking his eyes of Mercedes who he reckons aren’t showing their full hand just yet.
He said: “I think Red Bull showed a little bit more than Mercedes and they’ve been very impressive.
“I think Mercedes is hiding a massive amount, and only time will tell how much they’ve been hiding.”
Preparations for the new F1 season come to an end with one last test in Bahrain.
After that private week of running in Barcelona in January and three days of testing in Bahrain, three more days take place next week.
It is then all eyes on the opening race in Australia on March 8th with practice and qualifying to take place the two days before.
The Opening five rounds
- Round 1 – Australia – March 6-8
- Round 2 – China – March 13-15
- Round 3 – Japan – March 27-29
- Round 4 – Bahrain – April 10-12
- Round 5 – Saudi Arabia – April 17-19