Life after Lewis Hamilton has begun rather well for Mercedes who have been consistent in the opening two rounds of the new Formula 1 season including back-to-back podiums for George Russell
Toto Wolff is confident that Mercedes were “clearly” second only to McLaren in terms of performance at the Chinese Grand Prix. However, his lead driver George Russell was reluctant to make any grand claims about the team’s current situation.
It has undeniably been a strong start to the year for Mercedes. All questions about how they would adapt to life after Lewis Hamilton have been quietened with new team leader Russell performing very well.
He finished on the podium in the Australian Grand Prix season opener, aided by an Oscar Piastri mistake which saw him slip off track and tumble down the order when battling for the lead. He followed that up with a deserved podium in Shanghai last Sunday, one day after he also scored well in the sprint race.
As a result, he is third in the drivers’ championship behind only leader Lando Norris and defending champion Max Verstappen. And his new rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli has also started strongly with 22 points to show for his efforts which puts him fifth in the standings.
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Team principal Wolff is excited about what the next few months might hold after what he saw from his team in China. He said: “I wouldn’t say we are in the hunt now – when you look at Piastri being in front, [the McLaren] is easier on the tyres and you can manage it – but we are not far away, maybe the gap is a couple of tenths rather than the second it was in Melbourne.
“We are clearly the second fastest team today and that’s another solid result. George’s driving was a 10 out of 10, and I rarely give 10 out of 10 but he just extracted the maximum that was there today. And in so far, there are reasons to be excited of what the future brings.”
As far as Russell is concerned, though, the true picture isn’t quite so clear-cut. Asked whether he believed Mercedes are the second most competitive team behind McLaren right now, the Brit offered a more cautious take on the situation than his boss.
The 27-year-old said: “I think it’s close, to be honest. Things are very tight between ourselves, Ferrari and Red Bull. But we finished six second ahead of Max and 10 ahead of Ferrari, we’re mega pleased with that.
“Had qualifying not been as strong, had I qualified in sixth place behind those guys, I wouldn’t have finished on the podium today. Those are the fine margins we’re playing with.”
And Wolff did concede that the team is “still not where we want to be”. The Austrian added: “We will be happy when we start winning races and fighting for championships, but there is no sense of entitlement – you have to work your way to that and this is the exciting journey that lies ahead.”
