SAKHIR (Bahrain) — George Russell produced the second fastest time in yesterday’s pre-season testing, behind only his teammate Kimi Antonelli, but the English driver still insisted Mercedes had ‘taken a step back’ in Sakhir.

Russell and Mercedes have long been tipped as title candidates for this season as all the teams adapt to the rule changes which have led to a complete overhaul of chassis and engines, with a bigger focus on energy management.

The teams had a shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January and return to the track in Bahrain next week ahead of the season opening in Melbourne on March 8.

“Barcelona was very smooth (for Mercedes), and probably smoother than we actually anticipated, in terms of reliability, in terms of performance,” said Russell at the press conference after topping the time sheets in the morning session.

“We’ve got to Bahrain and in both regards we’ve taken a step back.

The 27-year-old, who finished fourth last season, switched the spotlight from his own team to Red Bull.

“I do think this test has been a bit of a reality check for all of us,” he said.

“The truth is, Red Bull in Barcelona, day one, hit the ground running, were well ahead of all of their competitors — ourselves, Ferrari and the others.

“Day one here in Bahrain, again, they sort of looked on par. At the moment, they’re very much the team to beat.”

Russell’s comments came a day after Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen slammed the rule changes which, he said, made the cars feel like “Formula E on steroids”.