George Russell has given Mercedes fans a glimmer of hope for Saudi Arabia by tipping his team to fight for a podium placed in Jeddah.
However, the rising star has little expectation of anyone being able to challenge the Red Bull duo of world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The Dutchman led the pair home in a one-two in the season opener in Bahrain, with the searing pace of the RB14 cars notable a dominant weekend.
In contrast, the Silver Arrows pairing struggled, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Russell himself seventh. The 25-year-old afterwards made a worrying admission, conceding he felt Verstappen and Perez would win every single race between them in 2023.
Addressing the media ahead of free practice in Saudi on Friday, Russell did insist the team had "a plan in place" and knew where they had gone wrong over the winter. He claimed the team had compromised performance in order to solve the porpoising issue that plagued them in 2022.
But he was also optimistic that the nature of the Jeddah track could see him or Hamilton finish in the top three with the Red Bull duo: "It's a very different weekend in Saudi," he said. "The track is very different and the tarmac is really different which has a much bigger effect than some people may think.
"Realistically, the performances are going to swing more than two tenths – plus or minus – for any team, so if you go with that approach then the fight could well and truly be on for the last step of the podium with Ferrari and Aston. It may not but, clearly, Red Bull had a lot of pace in hand and I see them on for another one-two finish this weekend."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has remained cautious though, and dismissed Russell's theory that his team is set to dominate proceedings. But they will undoubtedly be hot favourites at a venue where Verstappen took the chequered flag last year.
For his part, Hamilton was even more downbeat that his teammate, claiming the Constructors' champions were up on them by "a second and a half" per lap in Bahrain. And the start made by Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso third last time out, provides another headache for Toto Wolff and co.
The same venue was responsible for a humiliating moment for Hamilton 12 months ago, when he was eliminated in Q1 despite not enduring any engine problems. He went on to finish 10th in the race itself.
