George Russell believes the time will come when Mercedes’ rivals encounter development “pitfalls” – hurdles the Brackley outfit have already overcome this season.
11 races into the 2022 championship with its new generation of cars and Mercedes are yet to win a grand prix, a surprise given the team’s dominance over the past eight years.
In fact, Mercedes is yet to record a runner-up result, leaving the team behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.
There have been positives in recent weeks, with Russell and Lewis Hamilton stringing together a run of four successive podiums, while the W13’s rebound has been minimal in the last three races.
The bounce, or porpoise, has been a major setback for Mercedes in the first half of this season, leading to uncertainty about where they stand when it comes to upgrades.
So much so that Russell admits they’ve stumbled a few times.
The Brit, however, insists that the tests the team has had to overcome are for naught, and warns that other teams could soon fall into their own development “traps”.
“I really think we’ll be in contention for wins in the second half of the season,” he told Motorsport.com.
“At the moment we are making great progress. And I think as a team, we have a lot to be optimistic about, and there was always a lot of motivation and drive within this team to close the gap.
“But I think we’re just a short distance away now, there’s still more to come.
“I think the struggles we’ve had at the beginning of the year will probably pay dividends next year because other teams haven’t faced the problems we have.
“And they can fall into those traps later in the development process. So yes, we certainly have a lot to be optimistic about.”
It has already been said that Red Bull has taken the wrong path, with the team feeling that the new floor they introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix did not perform as planned.
As such, this weekend Max Verstappen will run the old flat with Sergio Perez using the new but modified from Austria.
Speaking about the team’s deficit to Ferrari at the Red Bull Ring, the Dutchman said it was “not just about the tyres”.
“I think also the way we put the car together, not only from the set-up, but also the package of the car, I think it was not right in Austria, which we found out.
“So hopefully with the things we’ve learned, overall, I think we’ll be more competitive.”