- Rookie and Lewis Hamilton off the pace in opening rounds
- ‘It’s going to be more of the same in the coming races’
George Russell has warned that he and teammate Lewis Hamilton have no chance of fighting for the Formula One title unless Mercedes drastically improves, speculating it could take up to eight races for them to be competitive at the front of the grid.
Russell and Hamilton finished fifth and 10th respectively at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, which was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing second. Mercedes were almost a second-a-lap off the pace of the leaders during parts of the race, with Hamilton, the seven-time champion, reduced to scrapping for a point with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.