Russell reality check after first qualy as Hamilton teammate

Not only was he thoroughly out-qualified at the 2022 Formula 1 season opener by his illustrious teammate, but also the man he replaced at Mercedes - Valtteri Bottas now at Alfa Romeo - was ahead of him on the timesheets at the end of the evening.

In Q1, Russell was a tad quicker than Hamilton, but could not match him thereafter with the older driver ending Q3 fifth fastest and George ninth, almost a second slower than the #44 car.

Russell explained in the Mercedes team report from Bahrain: "Today wasn't ideal for me, I went one second slower in Q3 than I did in Q2; with only one set of fresh tyres for Q3, I tried something different on my out-lap and it didn't work.

"I'm glad I tried something because we want to be fighting Ferrari and Red Bull. We had one shot, maybe it was too risky but we're here to fight for podiums and victories, not to settle for P5 and P6.

"The pace of our car is definitely behind Ferrari and Red Bull, and ahead of the rest of the midfield, so my target for tomorrow is to get ahead of that group. We're trying absolutely everything at the moment to solve our global issues with the car.

"We all knew with the regulation change that anything could happen, the only promising thing is we have major issues and we're still the third-fastest team. If we were in this position and everything felt great, then we'd be a little bit puzzled," concluded the 24-year-old Englishman tipped as Hamilton's heir.

Insult became injury for Geroge when a glance up the timesheets showed Bottas in sixth. Perhaps the night will be a reality check for him and realise that when it's Hammer-time, he better bring a sledgehammer because Hamilton is like no other teammate he has come up against and, probably, ever will.

While it would be grossly unfair to write Russell off so early on and, maybe, he did not have to eat humble pie on this occasion but he certainly has food for thought as he embarks on the most important season of his career.

Mercedes trackside boss, Andrew Shovlin explained: "For George, only having the one set in the final session was much more costly; the tyres weren't ready and he lost seven or eight tenths, a second down on his Q2 time. we have a bit of ground to makeup but it's a track where that is possible."

Russell will start his 61st Grand Prix when he lines up on the grid for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, his second race as a Mercedes driver - his first was at the same venue for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix - but this time around he is in the car for the foreseeable future