Russell: It's unfortunate that the W16's performance depends on the weather.
George Russell finished the tests two places lower on the Friday timesheet than Kimi Antonelli, his 18-year-old teammate, but both Mercedes drivers note that the weather at Silverstone was clearly warmer than forecasted, which affected the car's behavior.
George Russell (8th): "Today we are not particularly close to the leaders, but the weather has become warmer, the track asphalt heated up to 40 degrees, and we can only hope that the temperatures will decrease slightly in the remaining days of the weekend.
It's frustrating that each weekend our car's performance depends on the weather, and we need to improve in this area. This is especially important in the summer months, and we are certainly making efforts to address it. I believe Saturday and Sunday will be a little easier, but again: we can't rely on the weather forever."
Kimi Antonelli (6th): "Definitely not the easiest day, but driving on this track is a lot of fun for me. Today's temperatures were much higher than expected, although overall, I have to say that the car's behavior wasn't too bad.
Of course, we need to keep working, including me working on my driving, but let's hope that tomorrow will be much cooler – at least that's what the forecast promises. Then we'll see what we can do."
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Russell: It's unfortunate that the W16's performance depends on the weather.
George Russell finished the practice session a few places below Kimi Anttonelli in the lap times, but both Mercedes drivers noted that the weather at Silverstone was noticeably warmer than forecasted, which affected the car's behavior.