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George Russell has dismissed the notion that Mercedes\u2019 season has been a\u2019failure\u2019 so far ahead of Formula One\u2019s return this weekend.<\/p>\n
With the summer break over, it\u2019s time to go racing again, starting with the Dutch Grand Prix where once again Max Verstappen and Red Bull are expected to cruise to victory.<\/p>\n
Red Bull have won all 12 race so far in 2023, with their star driver aiming to delight his home fans and match Sebastian Vettel\u2019s record of nine consecutive wins.<\/p>\n
With the RB19 by far and away the quickest car on the grid, many believe the team could go the entire season unbeaten, something that would be very embarrassing for everyone else, especially frontrunners like Mercedes and Ferrari.<\/p>\n
Russell, who is currently sixth in the standings and has finished on the podium just once this year, agrees that it\u2019s not a position he or the Silver Arrows want to be in but does not believe it\u2019s all been a bust.<\/p>\n
\u2018As a team we\u2019ve gone from strength to strength. There were a lot of expectations of us, going into the season,\u2019 he said in Thursday\u2019s pre-race press conference.<\/p>\n
\u2018Perhaps that\u2019s why people are calling our season a bit of a failure. Of course, it\u2019s far from where we want it to be, because we want to be fighting for championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2018But to call P2 in the championship, 50 points ahead of P3, a failure? It\u2019s far from a reality.<\/p>\n
\u2018We know that we\u2019ve got a lot to improve. In the second half of the season, hopefully we can be there to pick up any pieces.\u2019<\/p>\n
Russell his maiden \u2013 and the last non-Red Bull \u2013 win in Brazil last year, and remains optimistic of another shock victory in the remainder of this season.<\/p>\n
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Setting out his targets for the next 10 races, he added: \u2018You never know. Last year we had the mentality that Singapore would be our only opportunity to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018When we didn\u2019t win there was disappointment and no expectation going into Brazil, but we came away with the victory there.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s close between us, Aston Martin, Ferrari and McLaren. We\u2019re consistently there fighting between the second and third fastest teams.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our team have done an amazing job to maximise points.\u00a0I\u2019m not going to say we\u2019re the second fastest team, but we\u2019re in a strong position to secure P2.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sir Lewis Hamilton echoed his teammate\u2019s remarks and is hopeful that he can help Mercedes secure second in the constructors\u2019 and get himself into P2 in the drivers\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n