The strange case of Mercedes in Australia: “Fast with mediums and hards, slow with softs”. George Russell commented on the outcome of the first two practice sessions for Mercedes.

Unpredictable W16
While Andrea Kimi Antonelli continues his more low-profile apprenticeship in Formula 1, George Russell was one of the main figures on the first day of free practice in Melbourne. The Mercedes driver showed good pace on the long run, but didn’t shine in the one-lap pace, finishing in seventh and tenth position in the FP1 and FP2 time sheets, respectively. At the end of the second practice session, he himself expressed some concerns to the journalists about the performance of his W16, describing it as “inconsistent.”

Tire issue
“It was really an up-and-down day,” said the #63 of the Silver Arrows. “Every time we put on the medium or hard tire, we were at the top of the timesheet, and every lap was good. Then we put on the softs, and we weren’t very fast anymore. We were quicker with the hards than with the softs, but it’s clear that the car has a certain rhythm, and we just need to make the best use of the tires.” – the British driver pointed out after FP2.

For George Russell, therefore, the work of ‘understanding’ what’s happening with the car will be crucial to maximize the weekend’s results: “We need to understand why this is happening and see what we can do overnight,” he emphasized. “If the session had stopped after using the hard or medium tire in FP1, I would have definitely said, ‘We’re right there or close.’ But you don’t qualify with the hard or medium tire; you qualify with the soft. We don’t seem particularly competitive on that tire, but I’m sure we can make improvements overnight.” – the Mercedes man concluded following the second free practice session for the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, which took place at the 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne.