George Russell says "Ferrari pace was insane" and questions Mercedes strategy in Barcelona

Starting from pole position, Russell ultimately finished P2 behind Hamilton after Ferrari produced a dominant race performance. While pleased to return to the podium after a difficult run of races, the Mercedes driver believes strategic decisions may have limited his chances.

Russell said: "Huge congrats to Lewis. I know how hard he works. We spent a lot of years together at Mercedes so I'm really pleased to see him back to the Lewis I remember when I was growing up.

"A tough day. It's good to be back on the podium and have a bit of a clean race from my side. Ferrari were mighty impressive today and we need to keep on pushing."

Hamilton's victory came after Ferrari showed race pace that Mercedes had not fully anticipated following qualifying, where Russell secured pole position.

Reflecting on the race, Russell suggested Mercedes may have committed to the wrong strategy as Hamilton charged through on an aggressive three stop approach: "Obviously, Lewis probably would have come back through anyway, but without a virtual safety car, he would have pitted behind us. Who knows what would have happened?

"I was just struggling towards the end of the stints. I need to review why that was. In the first stint, I felt very comfortable on the medium tyre. I felt we pitted really early. Lewis committed to a three stop and I think we should have committed to our own strategy," lamented Russell.

The Mercedes driver expected his team to mirror Ferrari's strategy: "It's something I want to pick up with the team because I was managing quite a lot at the start and still eking that gap out to Lewis. I thought we actually we converted to a three and when they told me we're staying on for two, that was a challenge."

Despite the disappointment of missing out on victory, Russell was quick to recognise the scale of Ferrari's performance and the threat they now pose in the championship fight: "Yesterday [qualifying] was a real surprise for the team and today the pace was insane from Lewis. They are coming, I think."

"I don't think we expected to see that sort of pace from Lewis and Ferrari. It was special to see him back on the top step. On my side, it was not straightforward at all, to be honest. I think the three stop probably would have suited my style a little bit better because I was struggling a lot towards the end of the stints," added the Briton.

While Hamilton celebrated Ferrari's first win of the season, Russell saidl: "I just take the positives away. It was a clean Friday, clean Saturday and I came away with 18 points, which is 18 more than I've done in the last two races."

The result may have restored Russell to the podium, but his post race verdict was clear. Ferrari's speed in Barcelona has raised the stakes for Mercedes as the title battle enters a new phase. And for him, in his battle with Antonelli he will have a great deal to think about until Austria upo next.