George Russell: Mercedes 'pace is just not there' at Bahrain Grand Prix free practice sessions

George Russell says the ‘pace is just not there’ as Mercedes took part in Free Practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. Red Bull and Ferrari were again the fastest as they continued to dominate, and new Mercedes driver Russell was concerned that traditionally smaller teams were also faster than them.

Ad/> “I think it’s clear it’s all about lap time and we’re not where we want to be,” he told Sky Sports. Bahrain Grand PrixHorner: Mercedes have 'particularly aggressive' porpoising problem31 MINUTES AGO “We made a bit of progress on some issues, but the pace is just not there at the moment.

“We need to really go over the data tonight to understand where we’re struggling. «We’re a long way off the pace with Red Bull and Ferrari, even the likes of AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo [are] seemingly on our pace or even quicker, so we’ve got a bit of work to do.” Verstappen sets fastest time in FP2, Hamilton struggles Verstappen claims 'I don't think we need a full report' over 2021 season controversy Russell said his team would now be working on finding areas for improvement.

/> “We were consistently over a second slower than where our rivals are. I need to look into the data a bit, we’re not overly happy with the car right now.