Mercedes stars George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have bemoaned their team’s pace, having been confined to midfield running once again at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
The former champions brought updates to their car in Imola, but could still only manage sixth and seventh place in the race, after another poor qualifying left them well off the pace of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
Teams like McLaren have clearly made gains on the dominant Red Bull team, with Lando Norris pressuring Verstappen for the win at the end of the race, as well as challenging the three-time world champion for pole position in qualifying.
Mercedes’ W15, on the other hand, has been struggling for pace all-season long, and has provided Hamilton with his worst ever start to an F1 season.
Max Verstappen won in Imola
Mercedes failed to catch their rivals despite bringing upgrades
Have Mercedes’ upgrades helped the team?
Russell had been ahead of Hamilton for the majority of the race, until he pitted a second time with the seven-time champion staying out on a one-stop strategy.
Following the race, both Mercedes drivers provided a stark assessment of their performance in Imola, claiming that the team were in ‘no-man’s land’.
“P6 and a P7 at the end of the day as a team we scored one extra point. I lost my position to Lewis but I’m not going to sulk over losing a P6 to be honest,” he said to Sky Sports after the race.
“This is where we are right now a little bit in no-man’s land behind the Ferrari’s and the McLaren’s and ahead of the midfield.”
George Russell claims Mercedes are in ‘no-man’s land’
Lewis Hamilton also confirmed Russell’s sentiments, whilst also looking towards the positives they could draw from this race weekend.
“We got points so that’s a positive,” Hamilton added.
“We’re in no-man’s land but I think that’s a strong finish in general for us. I don’t think there was much more for us.”