Russell says Mercedes remained outside set-up window after Friday practice

After Friday practice at the Mexico Grand Prix, George Russell said Mercedes had yet to get the updated W17 inside its ideal operating window, despite his third place in FP2. He was only a tenth behind Charles Leclerc, but said he and Kimi Antonelli remained outside the window and were struggling with balance limitations.

Russell said Mercedes was “not fully on top of the new package” and attributed the difficulty to its narrow operating window; the through-corner balance also needed work. Mercedes had introduced the updated W17 for Malaysia, where it was easily beaten by Max Verstappen. A similar struggle followed in Singapore. Russell said Mexico felt closer to Malaysia than to Austin, where he believed Antonelli had got the car inside the operating window. He hoped overnight work would bring Mercedes back there.

At the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Leclerc topped both Friday sessions before Antonelli ended Verstappen's run with a win from pole. Russell's three rounds before Mexico had yielded a DNF, ninth and eighth.

Deputy team principal Bradley Lord described Friday as solid, if unspectacular. He said Mercedes had answered some questions but still needed to work through the data to find the best compromise for Saturday and Sunday. Lord cited power-unit and brake cooling and turbo boost management as challenges; the set-up also had to deliver one-lap speed and maintain long-run pace.