Russell surprised by how much rivals showed in testing after dominating Melbourne qualifying

George Russell says Mercedes did not specifically hide its pace during pre-season, but has been surprised by how much others showed in testing after locking out the front row at the Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes was tipped as pre-season favorite heading into the new era of power unit and aerodynamic regulations, and while there were hints as to its potential performance in Bahrain, many of its rivals felt any one of four teams could be in the mix to win races this season. Russell then took pole position in the first competitive session of the year by nearly 0.8s over the first non-Mercedes car – Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull – but he says it’s a level of performance that wasn’t proactively concealed.

“I think it wasn’t a case of sandbagging, I think it was more a case of some of the other teams showing more than we would have expected in winter testing,” Russell said. “We’ve seen this on numerous occasions in the past.

“Obviously, the Red Bull looks quick and we know how incredible a driver Max [Verstappen] is as well. So, I’m sure Isack’s done an amazing job to be in this position. Who knows where Max would have been? And I think we said this from the outset, they look to be one of the biggest threats.”

Russell also believes cooler weather that qualifying took place in was beneficial for Mercedes, as the team has historically struggled in high temperatures.

“I think the conditions also came into our favor,” he said. “We know we’re better in these cooler conditions and as the track temperature dropped, we always seemed to find more lap time. But I think we’ve got a really great engine beneath us. However, I think we’ve also got a really amazing car beneath us, and I think that probably hasn’t been highlighted enough in the press these past few weeks.

“I think the car, from the off, Kimi [Antonelli] and I both said it felt great to drive. We’re enjoying the smaller cars, the lighter cars, and it’s the perfect way to start Melbourne.”

Mercedes’ early advantage makes Russell and Antonelli heavy favorites in Sunday’s race, but the polesitter insists the primary aim will be to complete the race to learn more about the new cars, as he’s wary of how quickly the competitive picture can change.

“You definitely have to make hay while the sun shines because my mentality coming into this race is, if we started on the front foot, it doesn’t guarantee anything,” Russell said. “If we start on the back foot, it doesn’t guarantee anything. And the rate of improvement from everyone at this time of the year is going to be huge.

“I’ve said it a few times, the 2022 season, with Ferrari, three races in they looked clearly the dominant team and were going to easily win the championship, and they weren’t close. You even look at the 2009 season, that was a 17-race year. If that was a 24-race season, there might well have been a different winner.

“So, we’ve got to keep on pushing, keep on working hard, and it isn’t just about these upcoming races. It’s about making sure we’ve got a good car for these coming years, because that’s where we failed in ’22.”