Russell bemoans missed opportunities in Ferrari fight

George Russell believes Mercedes should have already secured second in F1's Constructors' standings.

The Brackley-based squad currently holds the spot ahead of rivals Ferrari but just a 30-point gap separates the duo in a season that has been dominated by Red Bull.

Mercedes is gunning to finish as runner-up after ending last year's season third in the standings - its worst result since the 2012 campaign.

Both teams suffered a difficult weekend last time out in Qatar as Russell came together with team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the opening corner, which forced the seven-time champion to retire.

Briton Russell recovered to fourth place despite having fell to the back of the pack, crossing the line ahead of Charles Leclerc, whilst the Scuderia was forced to field just one car in the Grand Prix after Carlos Sainz suffered a pre-race fuel leak, ruling him out of the start.

Missed opportunities

Russell has endured a testing season himself and is 49 points adrift of Hamilton, who sits second in the Drivers' standings, and behind both Ferrari drivers.

The battle for runner-up in the Constructors' has been complicated by the mid-season emergence of McLaren as Red Bull's nearest challenger, although Sainz did pick up victory in the only non-Red Bull win of the year at Singapore.

“I think it's going to be close towards the end of the season,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.com.

“I think there's been a lot of missed opportunities on my side this season so we should have had that sewn up already.

“But I'm confident we can secure that while still on the journey, putting a huge amount of emphasis on next year's car.

“P2 is obviously very important but making sure we hit the ground running next season is the most important.”