Mercedes showed promise on hard and medium tyres in Melbourne, but a lack of pace on softs raises concerns ahead of qualifying.
A tricky start to the Australian Grand Prix weekend for Mercedes, as they struggled to extract speed from the soft tyres in free practice.
The team looked competitive on hard and medium compounds, keeping up with the top four teams. But when the softs went on, the performance just wasn’t there.
George Russell wrapped up FP1 and FP2 in 10th place, about eight-tenths behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
“It was a busy day. On mediums and hards, we were right up there in the top two, and everything felt strong.”
“Then we switched to softs, and the pace didn’t improve much.”
“The car has potential—it’s just about unlocking it with the tyres. That’s what we need to figure out.”
Russell believes there’s more to come:
“If the session had ended after our runs on hards or mediums, we’d be comfortably in the top five. But we don’t qualify on those; we qualify on softs, and we’re not where we need to be yet. Hopefully, we can dial in the setup before FP3 and qualifying.”
Antonelli Focused on Progress
For Kimi Antonelli, 16th fastest in the session, the focus was on gaining confidence with every lap.
“It was a solid day overall. There’s still work to do over one lap, especially to get the tyres in the right window, but the feeling is good.”
“I made a mistake at the end of the stint, but I’m building confidence, and the long-run pace was promising.”
Unlike Russell, Antonelli didn’t push for a fast lap, staying focused on his programme.
“A quick lap wasn’t my priority today—I’ll focus on that in FP3.”
Work to Do Before Qualifying
Mercedes has a challenge ahead. If they can crack the soft tyre puzzle overnight, they could be in the mix. If not, Saturday’s qualifying could be a tough one.
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Mercedes Struggles on Softs: Can They Fix It for Quali? Mercedes Struggles on Softs: Can They Fix It for Quali?
