Mercedes not giving up in Monaco: George Russell sees room for improvement. Mercedes struggled on Friday in Monaco, but George Russell remains confident.

Uphill Friday
Among the teams disappointed by the outcome of Friday’s free practice sessions in Monaco is certainly Mercedes. The Brackley squad arrived in the Principality eager to bounce back from the disappointing Sunday in Imola and hopeful of making the most of the W16’s strong one-lap pace on Saturday. However, the first two sessions of the weekend did not deliver encouraging signs: in FP1 George Russell recorded the sixth fastest time with Kimi Antonelli in 11th; in the afternoon session Antonelli moved up to ninth, while the Briton didn’t go beyond 12th place.

A night to improve
Speaking at the end of Friday, however, George Russell seemed optimistic about the Anglo-German team’s chances of turning the weekend around: “We weren’t particularly fast, but I’m still confident for qualifying,” said car #63. “There are clear improvements we can make overnight with the car and we have some ideas on how to get the tyres into a better window for the single lap.” – the British driver pointed out.

George Russell then looked ahead to the much-anticipated Sunday race, which will inevitably be affected by the new mandatory double pit-stop rule: “Saturday is usually the key day in Monaco, with the outcome of qualifying being hugely decisive for the race. This year, though, the two mandatory stops will make things interesting. Being in the top three after qualifying might not be as vital as in past years. Still, we’ll give everything to be at the front of the grid on Sunday,” he concluded.