Russell saw Mercedes progress but still expected tough Austin weekend
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After Friday practice, Russell saw signs of improvement at Mercedes but said the leading teams were closely matched and he had more speed to find in his own qualifying runs.
After Friday practice in Austin, George Russell expected a difficult weekend, even as he felt Mercedes’ upgrades were starting to work better. Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren were closely matched, he said, with small details likely to decide whether his team could fight at the front.
Russell was fourth in FP1, ahead of Kimi Antonelli, then fifth in FP2, some way behind Charles Leclerc, Antonelli and Max Verstappen. He said track limits cost him a lap in his qualifying runs, then he had a major slide in the first sector. He believed there was still speed to find.
Russell said the car had not felt right in FP1, but improvements Mercedes made before FP2 moved it in the right direction. The other teams had also made gains, he said; Mercedes still needed to improve the car and deliver strong qualifying and race performances to compete at the front.
Sources 01
- SOURCERussell staat voor grote uitdaging in Austin: "De concurrentie was zo sterk"RacingNews365 Nederland
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