George Russell believes that Alfa Romeo were the “most surprising team” during Formula 1 pre-season testing, with the Williams driver stating that Kimi Raikkonen looked “very fast” in the car.
Williams and Alfa Romeo were frequently occupying the same part of the track last season and will both be hoping to move up the grid in 2021.
While Alfa Romeo amassed eight world championship points and Williams failed to get off the mark, Russell was often able to beat out their drivers in qualifying and battle with them on race day.
Both teams enjoyed fairly issue-free tests in Bahrain last weekend, with Williams completing more laps than any of the other Mercedes-powered teams, 373, and Alfa Romeo managing a test-leading 422.
Reflecting on his impressions from pre-season testing, Russell singled out Alfa Romeo, but admitted that he would need a closer look at the data to make any concrete conclusions.
“Kimi looked very, very fast,” he said. “I have to give him credit.
“Although I need to look deeper into the data, I would say at the moment they look like the most surprising team.
“I can’t honestly tell you where I think we are in comparison, but on the face of things, Kimi looked very fast.”
A key reason for Alfa Romeo’s struggles last season was the weakness of the Ferrari power-unit and if the Scuderia have in fact taken steps to improve it, Alfa could be in a better position.
Asked for his first impressions of the 2021 Ferrari engine, Raikkonen said: “I am sure they’ve made progress, and it’s better. But then you would expect that the other manufacturers have also improved.
“But yeah, comparing what we had last year, it is in a better position.
“We’ll have to wait to see where it is once the racing stars, but it’s definitely helpful for us.”
(Additional Reporting: Agnes Carlier).