Consistency is key to success and George Russell has been an epitome of the same this season. The Mercedes man has impressed many with his performances this year. Despite being in his first year with the Brackley-based team, George sits above his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the driver’s standings. However, the Brit paints a gloomy picture of Mercedes’ chances to win this weekend.

George Russell has been the silver lining to a rather disappointing season for Mercedes. Despite a recent dip in performances, he has shown great composure and adapted supremely well to his new team. However, Russell does not believe the Silver Arrows have much chance against the Red Bull this weekend.

The former Williams driver expects to lose “three to four-tenths on the straights alone” compared to Red Bull in Brazil. As per Motorsport-Total.com, Russel stated, “It’s still down to efficiency. We still have a lot of drag. I think if you look at the last couple of races, our cornering performance has been really strong.”

He also mentioned, “But if you look at the average over the whole season, especially on the longer straights, we’re losing in between three and seven-tenths of a second per lap, just on the straights alone.”

READ MORE: Mercedes’ $2.7 Million Beast Destroys Arch-Rival’s Nurburgring Lap Record

George will be looking to beat Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to cut down the gap between them and Ferrari in the constructor’s championship. Moreover, he’ll be looking to regain his form before the season ends as well.

George Russell believes Mercedes has closed the gap to rivals Red Bull

Mercedes were really struggling to keep up with their rivals at the start of the season. However, after lots of experiments and upgrades, the Silver Arrows finally seem to be catching up with their rivals. Moreover, George Russell believes that they are cutting the gap between the W13 and the RB18.

George said, “Earlier in the year we were passed by Haas and Alfa Romeo. I remember a race at Imola where I was fourth and Valtteri [Bottas] was chasing me and was faster than us. And Lewis was P8 or P9 or something.”

“If we now look at the difference between us and, for example, Alfa Romeo and Haas, it’s huge. But I also find the fact that we’ve closed the gap to Red Bull very exciting and gives us hope for next year.”

Mercedes have racked up important points in the past few weeks. This has enabled them to bridge the gap to 2nd-placed Ferrari in the constructor’s championship.

WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton ‘To Boost Security’ at £18m London Home Ahead of 2022 Max Verstappen Duel

George Russell has been off his game lately, but the Mercedes driver will be looking to get back to his consistent best before the end of the season. Brazil allows the British driver to start fresh and finish in a strong position. Can Russell fight for a podium at the Brazilian GP?