The preseason test in Barcelona has thrown in some surprises into the mix. We have seen some interesting on-track action from the teams during the first 2 days at the Catalunya circuit. New Mercedes driver George Russell mentioned that the German team is currently lagging behind Ferrari and McLaren.

The Italian team has certainly been the pacesetter of the preseason test. They have led the grid in terms of the most amount of laps completed in 2 days, with Charles Leclerc ending day 2 as the fastest driver. McLaren have also shown amazing consistency throughout the 2 days and were the fastest team on track on day one.

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Mercedes driver George Russell has something to say

As reported by Motorsport-Turkey, both Russell and Hamilton have completed a decent amount of laps in the preseason testing. But the young British driver mentioned he believes the team is currently behind Ferrari and McLaren right now. Mercedes had some problems in their car on day 2, with Hamilton behind the wheel.

“We’re seeing some interesting things here. That’s what the tests are for. Some teams are looking very fast. Ferrari and McLaren, in particular, are looking very, very competitive. So we’ll see what we can do between this test and Bahrain,” said Russell.

“We’re definitely not ahead. I’m sure of that. They seem to be keeping things under control and they seem very strong on low fuel, high fuel, and tire management. Who knows? We’re all on different schedules, but compared to the average of these tours, we’re behind them.

We’ll wait and see. The championship is not won in the tests in Barcelona. But it’s definitely been two very interesting days so far,” said George.

This is certainly an interesting observation made by George Russell regarding the German team. It is unclear whether Mercedes are truly behind Ferrari and McLaren after 2 days of track running in Barcelona.

But if they’re behind, then they really have a job on their hands before heading out to the official pre-season test and the first race in Bahrain. Let us see if this situation persists on the final day in Barcelona and if it sounds alarm bells for the German team just yet.

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