Russell is very impressed by Ferrari and McLaren

Joining the eight-time reigning world champion team, George Russell obviously has only one goal: to fight for victory and the world championship. However, with the regulatory revolution this season, the cards could very well be reshuffled.

Indeed, after the first winter testing session in Barcelona, the teams have already given their first impressions regarding these new single-seaters. And for the British driver, there is no doubt that Ferrari and McLaren are currently ahead of the rest of the field.

“We saw some very interesting things over there, that’s what the tests are for,” Russell said. “Some teams look quite fast. A red team and an orange team, in particular, seem very, very competitive. So let’s see what we can do between these tests and Bahrain.”

Also read: Barcelona Trials: Ferrari is the most productive team on the track.

Lewis Hamilton’s teammate expressed certainty that Mercedes is not ahead of these two teams at the moment, claiming that their counterparts are extremely well prepared in any relay simulation.

Translate: « We certainly are not in front, I’m pretty sure of it. They seem to have things well under control and they seem very solid, with little fuel and lots of fuel, and with tire management. After that, who knows? We all know that we are on different programs, but we definitely know, based on the average of all the different simulations, that we are behind them for now. »

Russell: « We are definitely not in front, I’m pretty sure of that. »

Russell, however, remains relatively optimistic and waits to see what happens next before drawing any firm conclusions too quickly.

Let’s wait and see. The championship is not won in Barcelona during winter testing! concluded the young British driver.

The second winter testing period for Formula 1 will take place from March 10th to March 12th in Bahrain, leading up to the Grand Prix in which the drivers will participate one week later, on Sunday, March 20th.