George Russell admits Mercedes were off the pace in Monaco FP but remains confident ahead of crucial F1 qualifying and race strategy.
Russell admitted that Mercedes F1’s performance during Friday’s free practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix was their slowest of the 2025 season so far.
Russell finished 12th in the final FP2 standings, over seven-tenths behind Charles Leclerc’s time in the Ferrari.
Mercedes had high hopes for a strong qualifying performance coming into the weekend. However, based on Friday’s results, the team will need to significantly improve overnight to compete with McLaren and Ferrari.
“It’s always intense around Monaco. The track isn’t big enough for 20 F1 cars. As our friend Yuki [Tsunoda] says, it’s a real traffic paradise around the circuit, and that’s kind of how it was today.”
“It’s always amazing to drive here. We weren’t very fast today, but tomorrow is usually the main day. This weekend, with the two mandatory pit stops, it will be interesting.”
“We’ve already seen some teams get rid of the hard tyres, which surprised us a bit, suggesting they’re probably considering a different plan than what we expected. It’ll be interesting.”
Russell hopes for a turnaround similar to 2024. The Mercedes driver was nine-tenths off Leclerc in FP2 and closed the gap to just two-tenths in qualifying, securing fifth place on the grid.
“In terms of outright performance, this Friday was probably the slowest. To be honest, we had a bad Friday here last year and ended up just over a tenth off pole in the end. Everything is still up for grabs, and I’m still looking forward to seeing how Sunday unfolds.”
“Even if we’re not in the top 5 or top 3 tomorrow, I still think there’s a chance on Sunday, especially with a new format like this year’s with two stops. We’ll keep the hope alive.”
Antonelli Gains Confidence Despite Tough Monaco Start
Kimi Antonelli reflects on a challenging but insightful first Monaco outing as Mercedes focuses on tyre strategy and qualifying improvement.
Antonelli, didn’t fare much better, setting the ninth fastest time, 0.6s off the session’s best.
“It’s fun driving an F1 here! It’s hard to find the right balance and extract the most from the tyres. We tried different things today, especially with the soft tyres and the warm-up because it’s tough to get grip on the first lap. I learned a lot today and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“We know Ferrari is always strong here and McLaren has been strong all season. But we don’t know how much fuel the others are running; we’re trying to focus on ourselves and get ready for tomorrow.”
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