The anticipation and excitement is building in the lead-up to Round 3 of the 2022 Formula 1. The first two races were nerve-racking to say the least, as Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have one victory each. Meanwhile, Mercedes is struggling with issues in the W13. Lewis Hamilton’s elimination in Q1 during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix shocked the F1 world. It also reveals the problems they face ahead of the race in Albert Park.

Although Silver Arrows are second in the constructors’ championship, that does not reveal the whole picture. Red Bull’s reliability issues in Bahrain saw both their cars retire towards the end of the race. Fortune favored Mercedes as they capitalized on the situation and secured some crucial points. Even though George Russell was nine-tenths off the pace of Sergio Perez in Jeddah, he believes the team can match Red Bull and Ferrari with 21 races to go.

George Russell reveals Mercedes will fight back

Mercedes’ newest recruit, George Russell, has not grabbed the headlines so far, but has started the season solidly. The young Brit believes the team needs to mitigate the damage in the upcoming races and stay close to Ferrari and Red Bull.

He said, “We need to be in almost damage limitation mode at the moment, pick up the pieces, when there’s an opportunity, don’t throw away unnecessary points, even though it may just be for fifth or sixth or hopefully, a bit higher, and make sure we were within touching distance always. Then, hopefully, when the car does improve, we can come back fighting,” explained the 24-year-old as he seeks his first podium with Mercedes.

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The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw George Russell grabbing crucial points for the team. He finished P5 and had a relatively comfortable race amid Hamilton’s disappointing qualifying and eventual P10 finish. However, Red Bull and Ferrari are in a league of their own. But Russell believes the Silver Arrows will fight back and try to close the gap.

He added, “It’s a very long season, I think we’ve all got confidence that if we do things right, there’s no reason why we can’t close the gap and potentially overtake [the top two teams].”

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The Mercedes driver also feels Red Bull and Ferrari will improve as the season progresses. However, his confident words will be music to the ears of Mercedes fans. Can the Silver Arrows bounce back from a poor start? Leave your thoughts in the comments.