Russell fires Mercedes warning to Red Bull

George Russell has warned Red Bull that Mercedes "develop" their Formula 1 cars faster than any other team as the upgraded W14 has provided encouragement.

The zero sidepods concept was finally dropped by the team, with the more conventional-looking car debuting in Monaco, before a strong weekend in Barcelona where it finished second and third to race winner Max Verstappen.

Mercedes' understanding of the new concept is still limited, with Red Bull effectively having an 18-month head start of knowledge gained but, now that the eight-time champions appear to be heading in the right direction, Russell has warned Red Bull that Mercedes are coming.

Russell's warning

"Yeah, I think so, but we go to so many different circuits," Russell explained to media, including RacingNews365.com, when asked if the car was the best he had experienced at Mercedes.

"The car naturally feels really, really strong, it probably felt the best it's ever felt around Barcelona because of the cooler conditions, but definitely this season, probably the best it's felt, the most together it's felt.

"So we are making strides in the right direction. We just need to make sure, especially into next year, that we hit the ground running because I think we as a team probably develop faster than anybody else."

Hamilton echoes thoughts

Teammate Hamilton echoed the thoughts of Russell, believing the upturn in performance will be a "big boost" for team morale.

"[It was] definitely the best the car has been in the past year and a half," he said.

"So that's kudos to the amazing group of people we have back at the factory who continue to work hard and push the car forward.

"It felt the best this weekend; it felt the best [in qualifying and the race] than it's felt for the past 14/15 months, whatever it is.

"That's super encouraging, I think not only for me but for everybody in the team. This will be a big boost for everybody's morale. And we're going to take that energy on to developing the car."