George Russell signals suspicions over Red Bull F1 pace

George Russell has stated that Red Bull was “suspiciously slow” at the second pre-season test in Bahrain after attracting some early attention.

The Milton Keynes-based squad has enjoyed a positive build-up to the new campaign as it enters with its own power unit for the first time.

Its performance at the first Bahrain test generated praise from rivals before it endured a more subdued second test the following week.

It caught the attention of Russell ahead of a season in which Mercedes is hoping to permanently restore itself at the front of the pecking order following a handful of challenging campaigns.

As it got up to speed with its pre-season preparations, Russell insisted Mercedes was not seeking to play any games at testing in order to deceive other teams.

“I think from our side, there hasn't really been any strategic poker,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.

“We've been very consistent with our run plans over the course of the two weeks, staying pretty consistent on fuel loads and power stuff. 

“We didn't change our plans during the course of a test based on us looking strong or slow.”

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Russell 'struggling' to understand Red Bull pace change

Mercedes and Red Bull have been tipped by many to commence the year at the head of the field as F1 embarks on a new era under fresh technical regulations.

Russell has suggested that Red Bull purposely scaled back its pace at the second Bahrain test in order to cool the attention it was getting.

“I think Red Bull looked suspiciously slow in the second test, to be honest,” he said.

“We had them down as arguably the quickest in the first test, and based on our numbers, they went seven-tenths slower compared to themselves in the second test.

“Whereas ourselves and Ferrari went a couple of tenths quicker with a few new upgrades to the car.

“So I'm struggling to wrap my head around how they've lost seven tenths in a week. 

“I expect them to be very strong, to be honest. And that's why we're just all really intrigued to see how it pans out.”