Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell makes ominous prediction of when Mercedes will be competitive again, as Toto Wolff says ‘it’s not fun at all’ after slow start to new Formula 1 season

George Russell conceded “there is no way Mercedes will fight for the championship” unless things improve quickly.

It’s been a frustrating start to the season for last year’s constructors’ champions who, after a fortuitous third and fourth place for Lewis Hamilton and Russell in Bahrain, fell to 10th and 5th at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

As a result, Toto Wolff’s team is already a far cry from the high-flying pioneers Ferrari and Red Bull.

And, according to new recruit Russell, it looks like it could be a case of damage control in the coming weeks.

He explained: “We are certainly not left out, but if we cannot find improvements, we will not be fighting for this championship.

“We are not giving up. Even if we continue like this for the next five, six, seven or eight races, we’ll still be within reach and there’s no reason why we can’t knock it down.

“We have to see how things look mid-season. Everything can change.

“I see no reason why we will make progress.

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“We are the third fastest team at the moment and closer to fourth than second, so it will be more or less the same in the races to come.

Those sentiments were echoed by Mercedes team principle Toto Wolff, who admitted their current situation “isn’t fun at all”.

He said: “We’ve had the luxury of being in the midst of these fun games for the past eight years and it’s extremely painful not to be a part of it.

“We’re not going to rest until we’re back in the mix.

“It’s not funny at all, it’s an exercise in humility, and it’s going to make us stronger in the end, even if it’s not funny right now.”

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