Guenther Steiner suggests George Russell wasn’t even using Mercedes’ full potential in Melbourne

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George Russell’s dominance at Albert Park was impressive, but we might not have seen his Mercedes’ true power just yet.

Russell made easy work of the Australian Grand Prix, securing pole position in qualifying and going on to win the race on Sunday.

Despite the win, Charles Leclerc hinted at Mercedes’ pace being less than expected. In particular, Leclerc seemed to suggest that Russell could have been at risk had Ferrari not made a strategy error.

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Some have suggested that Russell’s car showed reliability issues at Melbourne, which could give other teams a chance to topple the preseason favourites.

George Russell, despite an impressive win, has not fully convinced everyone of Mercedes’ ensuing dominance. However, Guenther Steiner believes Melbourne wasn’t even a preview of what is to come.

READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer ‘loved’ Charles Leclerc’s ‘real signal of intent’ against George Russell in Australia

Guenther Steiner believes George Russell was ‘monitoring’ during Australian GP, didn’t take any risks

Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Guenther Steiner was asked whether he felt George Russell was ‘managing’ his Mercedes en route to a win at Albert Park.

Without hesitating, the former Haas team principal explained why Russell did not break a sweat during the race, as his car and the system had everything under control to fend off any potential threats.

“Yeah, for sure, he was monitoring. He didn’t need to do anything to take any risk as long as the distance stays the same. Why would you overuse anything? Why would you overuse your systems?”

“He gets the proper information. This is my data to him. It stays stable. The guy cannot catch me. He lapped everybody except six cars.”

Outside of an entertaining battle in the first few laps, George Russell was never really threatened by either Ferrari or Kimi Antonelli after he took the lead in Australia.

READ MORE: David Coulthard left unconvinced by what George Russell said about Ferrari after the Australian GP

George Russell could silence remaining critics with solid Chinese Grand Prix win

Even with a strong win at the Australian Grand Prix, George Russell has not managed to turn all his detractors into believers just yet.

But another win in Shanghai could make that happen, as it would cement Mercedes as the favourites this season and prove to people that his drive at Albert Park was no anomaly.

However, Russell might not have it as easy, as both the Ferrari drivers will be looking to improve on their performances last weekend with a possible win.

It will be up to Russell to show that having the fastest car is an added benefit to him, and that he has the talent and the determination to get wins in said car.