George Russell has said that Mercedes are “potentially” suffering with the same wind sensitivity issues that affected Williams during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Although Lewis Hamilton won the race, Mercedes were beaten to pole position by a margin of four tenths of a second by Red Bull and Max Verstappen, and experienced issues throughout pre-season testing at the same venue.
Williams, meanwhile, did not take the step forward that some had hoped in Bahrain, with Russell suggesting that the windy conditions were a key reason for their lack of pace. The 2018 F2 champion finished 14th, with teammate Nicholas Latifi retiring on lap 51.
Looking ahead, Russell noted that he did not expect to see Mercedes struggle to such an extent at upcoming Grands Prix.
“It’s what we’ve got, it’s what a lot of teams have got,” he said. “Time will tell, but I believe that potentially Mercedes are in the same boat.
“They probably struggled this weekend more than you’ll see them struggle at races in the near future. Red Bull, and the likes of Alfa Romeo, were more competitive relative to the field than we’ll see in races to come.
“There were very windy conditions today. 50 km/h winds, it’s very open, very exposed. And when you’re driving around at 300 km/h, 50 km/h wind makes a difference. You can imagine at 50 km/h, it’s with like gusts of 60, 70 km/h.”