Mercedes driver says Red Bull’s drop in pace in Bahrain was “strangely slow”
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George Russell stated that Red Bull Racing’s performance in Formula 1 pre-season testing drew attention for being “suspiciously slow” in the second week of activities held at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The Milton Keynes team arrived at the tests with high expectations for the new season, especially as they begin a new phase with their own power unit. In the first collective session held in Bahrain, Red Bull’s performance drew praise from rival teams and indicated that the team could start the championship among the strongest on the grid.
However, the pace shown in the second round of testing was more discreet, something that caught Russell’s attention. The Mercedes driver stated that the numbers indicate a significant drop in performance for the Austrian team compared to the previous week.
“To be honest, I think Red Bull looked suspiciously slow in the second test,” Russell told the press. “We had them as possibly the fastest in the first test and, from our data, they were about seven-tenths slower in the second week.”
Russell highlighted that, meanwhile, Mercedes and Ferrari showed progress during the tests. According to him, both teams managed to improve their times by a few tenths after introducing small updates to their cars throughout the pre-season activities.
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“Meanwhile, we and Ferrari were a few tenths faster with some updates to the car,” he explained.
The Briton also ensured that Mercedes did not try to hide its true performance during the tests, a practice many teams often use to mislead rivals.
“On our part, there was no kind of strategic game,” he stated. “We were quite consistent in our testing programs over the two weeks, maintaining similar fuel loads and power levels. We didn’t change our plans based on whether we looked strong or slow.”
Even with Red Bull’s apparent drop in performance in the second week, Russell believes the team will continue to be one of the main forces on the grid when the season officially begins.
“I’m trying to understand how they lost seven-tenths in just one week,” he said. “To be honest, I expect them to be very strong. That’s why we’re all curious to see how this unfolds.”
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