George Russell will start the Azerbaijan GP in fifth, Lewis Hamilton two places behind him in seventh; Hamilton has struggled all weekend with some severe bouncing in his Mercedes; Watch Azerbaijan GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday at 12pm
Saturday 11 June 2022 22:18, UK
George Russell described Mercedes' deficit to Ferrari and Red Bull as "shocking" as Lewis Hamilton admitted the team keep reaching the "same conclusion" after another disappointing qualifying at the Azerbaijan GP.
Russell will start Sunday's race at the Baku street circuit in fifth, with Hamilton two places behind him in seventh as both Mercedes drivers continue to struggle to get to grips with the challenging W13.
After securing an eighth successive constructors' title last season, Mercedes' dominant streak appears to be coming to an end, with the Silver Arrows already more than 100 points adrift of leaders Red Bull, eight races into the 2022 season.
"The lap felt good, the car felt good but obviously it is pretty shocking when you cross the line and you are one and a bit seconds behind pole position," Russell said after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beat the Red Bulls to pole on Saturday.
"We expect so much of ourselves and we are working so hard to bring more performance, but definitely this weekend has brought out the strengths and the weaknesses of all of us.
"To be honest, it truly is just not going fast enough.
"It feels ok from within, except when we are going down the straights because every single bump is the most rigid I have ever felt from any race car before.
"In the breaking zones, it is so bumpy down those straights and feels awful from within but through the corners itself the car feels good.
"So we know it isn't a balance thing getting the car in the right window with the set up, it is more we don't have the downforce and we are balancing a lot of limitations to try and get the downforce.
"We know there is a lot there but we don't know how to extract it."
Mercedes have once more been hampered by extreme bouncing of their car, with Hamilton reiterating after Saturday's action that he is experiencing significant pain in his back.
The seven-time world champion said he and Russell were "taking a beating" to enable the car to run with lower downforce, but ultimately being left frustrated as the same problems remained.
"I'm not surprised [about the gap], I mean it was the same in Monaco," said Hamilton.
"It was a really difficult qualifying session, we're constantly pushing.
"We have a very, very small window where we can work this car and everything we try doesn't give us what we want. So, we're making lots of changes, but we're always out with the same conclusion, which is most often bouncing, which loses us a lot of performance.
"All the performance is when you get the car low… so we said let's take a beating in our necks and backs to get the car as low as possible for the performance. It's bouncing a little bit more than the other cars."
As has been the case in the five F1 races previously held in Baku, starting at the front of the grid does not guarantee a win, and Mercedes will hope that the possibility of safety cars will play into their hands.
Russell is adamant that another drama filled race is the only way he will improve from his starting position on the grid.
"We are not going to get anything more on merit," he said.
"The slowest car on the grid is closer to us than we are to Ferrari and Red Bull, to put it into perspective.
"Unless there is a late safety car and we are strategically on the right tyre at the right time and there are issues ahead, then P5 would be the maximum.
"We know that there are some fast cars around us, a lot of drivers were really fast this weekend and in the midfield it is extremely tight between the McLarens, Fernando, Gasly.
"We want more, we are fighting for more, we are not going to settle for P5 and P6 or P7, but you can't just give the points away unnecessarily doing something stupid."
Hamilton, whose only victory in Baku came in 2018, is also aware that a high dosage of drama could aid his chances.
"There's lots to look forward to, it's a tricky and chaotic race there's lots that can happen. We're in the top 10.
"We're still there, we're just very slow on the straights, so it might be a struggle tomorrow in the race, but we're going to give it everything.
"I hope, maybe we'll have better race pace than the others, maybe? Who knows?"
Hamilton's is a sentiment echoed by Mercedes Team principal Toto Wolff who, although unimpressed with the performance of the W13 compared to the front runners, is also hoping that strategy can help his team make some gains and recover some positions.
"The gap is big," Wolff said. "It's a long lap time and we're lacking pretty much everywhere. I wish I didn't have to look at these kind of overlays in the future, any more.
"Strategy can play a big role, I think you can recover quite good positions if you're on the right strategy. We can gamble because when you're on the hunter it's a different situation."
Sunday June 12
8:30 am: F2 Feature Race
10:30 am: Grand Prix Sunday: Azerbaijan
12pm: THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
2pm: Chequered Flag: Azerbaijan
3:30pm: Azerbaijan GP Highlights
