George Russell has urged those criticising Mercedes to be more realistic in their expectations for the team, who he is adamant will continue to improve.
“There were a lot of expectations of us, going into the season,” he said.
“Perhaps that’s why people are calling our season a bit of a failure. Of course, it’s far from where we want it to be, because we want to be fighting for championships.
“But to call P2 in the championship, 50 points ahead of P3, a failure? It’s far from a reality.
“We know that we’ve got a lot to improve. In the second half of the season, hopefully we can be there to pick up any pieces.”