The 25-year-old took to the Sakhir-based track less than two weeks on from the launch of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s challenger, the W14, and established a strong baseline on the first of three days.

He drove 69 laps during the morning of Day One, and initially ran with aero rakes to examine aerodynamic performance before focussing on setup work.

A 1:34.174 run on the C3 tyres gave George the ninth-fastest lap at the end of the first day, with 373 kilometres on the board.

He continued to optimise the W14’s performance on Day Two but faced a curtailed afternoon following a hydraulic failure, 90 minutes from the session’s end.

This prevented George from completing any long-distance running, but with continued aero evaluation and balance checks, he completed a personal best 1:33.654 lap.

George returned to the cockpit on the morning of the final day of testing and made good progress after reviewing changes made overnight before comparing tyre compounds.

With 83 laps, he completed just under 450 kilometres of consistent running to end the test with a 1:31.442 lap, set on the C5 compound.

Following testing, George’s full focus is placed on this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix – the first race of the 2023 World Championship – on 3-5 March.

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George Russell, Driver, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™  Team

"I believe we have improved the car over the course of testing and got the W14 in a much better window. There is still plenty of work to do but we’re in better shape for next week with more to come."