Russell and Hamilton in High Spirits After Free Practice

Mercedes F1 Makes Strong Showing in Zandvoort Practice

23/08/2024

Russell and Hamilton propelled Mercedes F1 to an impressive start at Zandvoort, showcasing their prowess in the free practice sessions.

George Russell expressed his eagerness for the upcoming qualifying rounds as Mercedes F1 appears competitive with McLaren and Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix, while Lando Norris and Max Verstappen both sought performance enhancements following the second free practice session.

Mercedes F1 slightly edged out the competition in Zandvoort’s second practice session, with Russell leading and teammate Lewis Hamilton placing third, sandwiched by Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

With the top 5—including Norris and Verstappen—within less than three-tenths of a second, Russell stated that the W15 is performing well, and he is thrilled about the prospect of vying for pole position in qualifying.

“I’m getting back into the groove. It was really challenging on the track as it was extremely windy, probably the windiest I remember in two years. The car performed really well—I have upgrades that seem to work as expected. It looks like a close battle with McLaren, with Max, but everything could change tomorrow.”

“The first six races, the car wasn’t on pace, but the weather was stable and the race weekends were quite straightforward for everyone. Suddenly, as soon as the car was quick in Canada, at Silverstone, we were faced with all sorts of challenges, but that’s the same for everyone.”

“I’m truly excited to be back in form and I’m looking forward to qualifying, to feel that battle and the excitement that qualifying always brings. I’ve missed it!”

For Lewis Hamilton, there’s a big smile too for this successful return.

“It’s OK today, a good start to the weekend, so different from last year. The car is much more lively and fast, it changes things. We understand it well and manage to start on the right foot with the right settings from the first laps, which clearly makes our life easier.”

“For my best lap, I don’t think I made the most of the soft tyres, but I still have some work to do on the settings. But it’s good to start.”

“It’s hard to predict tomorrow at the moment but we’re in the mix. I have a good direction for qualifying and the race pace. I don’t know if we’ll be playing for the victory but we’re definitely in the top 5.”

Russell and Hamilton in High Spirits After Free Practice

Russell and Hamilton in High Spirits After Free Practice Russell and Hamilton in High Spirits After Free Practice

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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