Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were left disappointed and frustrated on Saturday after finishing seventh and fifth in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. 

“It’s a shame that we didn’t get to show any of the real potential of this car so it’s been a bit of a strange day,” said Russell. “It’s nothing really to be too concerned about – all we needed was to put a slightly bigger bodywork on the car.”

Seven-time champion Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes for Ferrari to replace Carlos Sainz in 2025, had topped practice on Friday ahead of Russell, raising hopes of a strong performance. 

But after starting ninth, he struggled to make an impact while Russell went from third to fifth – with both hit by cooling problems. 

“I think there is a feeling of disappointment within the team,” Hamilton said. “I thought we would have been better today than we were. It was a close race, degradation was high.”

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com