Will Mercedes improve in Australia? This is what Hamilton and Russell say!

Currently, Mercedes have to get comfortable with sitting in fourth place in the constructors' championship. Russell has done good business with a fifth place in Bahrain and sixth in Saudi Arabia for the team, which in their current state are not competing for the podium. Hamilton has had a tougher time, finishing seventh in Bahrain and only ninth in Saudi Arabia.

Russell has high hopes for Australian GP

Still, there is hope for a better performance in Australia, Russell says: "You've only got to look at the potential and the performance we showed in FP1 and FP2 in the last two races. We were genuinely quick and the performance went away from us into qualifying. We have some ideas why that may have been."

Russell continued: "I think it's also important just to remember we've only done three days of practice and two races and I think if you compare that to a football team, if they've done three days of training together, the first two games per season, they'll still be understanding how to get the most out of each other and maximise the team. So that's sort of where we're standing right now. It's so close out there between the four teams after Red Bull, so again, it can easily swing."

Hamilton sees potential in his Mercedes

Hamilton agrees with Russell: "I do think we have an amazing car. There's a lot of potential in it.  We just haven't maximised it at the moment through set-ups, through, ultimately, mistakes. And we're obviously not happy with the performance of those first couple of races."

Hamilton therefore thinks there is still a lot of potential in the car: "So that's what everyone's focus is on, just trying to understand the car. We're hoping there’s a step forward this weekend. There's a huge amount of work that's going on. Everyone's heads are down in the numbers. I feel positive this weekend. I've had two not-so-great races, but there's a long way ahead."