George Russell says that there is “optimism and excitement” at Mercedes as they look to overcome its issues in 2022.
Mercedes is unbeaten in the turbo-hybrid era in battles for the Constructors’ Championship, but has started the 2022 campaign on the back foot.
The Brackley-based squad is notably the third-fastest squad in the field, behind Ferrari and Red Bull, who have shared wins across the first three rounds of the year.
Despite its lack of pace compared to its rivals, Russell asserts that Mercedes is not growing frustrated over the current situation.
“I think it’s more optimism and excitement to be honest, because we do believe there is a solution,” Russell said.
“And we do believe there’s a lot of lap time on the table once we do optimise that. So we’re not here scratching our heads, not understanding why we’re off the pace.
“We absolutely know where we’re off the pace and we know what we need to work on to improve that.
“And having that knowledge, having that understanding of what the issues are, and having the belief that we can solve it, is quite an exciting place to be, because it gives us all something to go for.
“But we do appreciate that our rivals will be continuously improving and even if we improve, there’s no reason why they won’t be improving, as well.
“So it’s going to take time for sure.”
Mercedes has taken two podium finishes across the opening three races, with Lewis Hamilton and Russell finishing third in Bahrain and Australia respectively.
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