Despite topping the timesheets in FP1, and grabbing a decent P6 in FP2, George Russell does not believe Mercedes can fight for pole in Qualifying on Saturday at the F1 Austrian GP.
Topping first practice was a surprise for Russell
The British Mercedes driver topped the FP1 session earlier today with a 1:05.542. However, he had to settle for P6 during the second free practice session. Both Mercedes drivers were in the top ten for majority of FP1, but in FP2 they did not look quite as strong. While they started FP2 with taking the top two positions early on, it did not last long as they slowly tumbled down the order. The Brit was six tenths of a second off the time of Lando Norris, who topped the timesheets in FP2.
When asked about how promising Friday was, Russell expressed that they did not expect to be on top during the first practice session. The Mercedes driver stated:
“I mean first practice was definitely a surprise to us. Second practice we definitely didn’t have the pace like we did this morning. The quali runs and the race pace was a step worse so we need to analyze why that was.”
Russell does not see Mercedes fighting for pole this weekend at F1 Austrian GP
While the Mercedes team has been looking strong lately, with Russell taking the win at the Canadian GP, Austria is a different beast. The British driver explained that the Mercedes car is not quite suited towards tracks such as the Red Bull Ring.
“The tarmac here is pretty abrasive, it’s normally a two-stop race. That doesn’t really suit our strengths. As I said, this morning was a real surprise, this afternoon it’s probably a bit more in line with our expectations but still fighting to get back on the podium. But the top-five range is realistically where we’re at.”
When asked about the possibility of fighting for pole, Russell assessed that the McLarens were “mighty strong” and he does not expect Mercedes to be able to fight them.
“The McLarens were mighty strong, especially this afternoon. I don’t really see that changing and that was the anticipation coming into the weekend unfortunately. We’ll do out best but I don’t think we’ll be fighting for pole this weekend.”
Russell’s assessment appears to be quite realistic, considering the pace of the McLarens. The McLaren’s currently look to be in a league of their own.
Kimi Antonelli positive for a good qualifying
After securing his maiden pole at the Canadian GP, Kimi Antonelli appeared to be more positive than Russell and ready to fight in Qualifying. While the young talent finished P11 in both free practice sessions, he believes there are positives to take from the sessions.
Additionally, the rookie had a moment with Lewis Hamilton during FP2 that was noted by the stewards. When Hamilton was on a slow lap it appeared his engineer failed to inform him that Antonelli was approaching on a flying lap in Turn 4. The rookie had to take avoiding action by going into the run off area of the track, while the Ferrari driver was noted for impeding.
“Definitely the long run was positive and we were pretty close, just towards the end we started to struggle a bit more compared to the McLaren but the first half of the stint was pretty strong,” the Italian stated.
Antonelli continued on to express:
“Always very positive but we need to do a good qualifying in order to start at the front and maybe we can put up a fight.”
The Italian rookie appears to be hungry for more after this wonderful weekend in Canada. Hopefully he will be able to surprise tomorrow, despite the team’s reservations this weekend.
