Russell: Looks like our race pace is good.
On Friday in Zandvoort George Russell posted the fourth-best time, although he admitted that so far the Mercedes is not working as efficiently as he'd like. His teammate was only 12th, and in addition in the first session Kimi Antonelli lost time because he couldn't keep the car on the track and it got stuck in the gravel.
George Russell (4th): "To be honest, it feels pretty good behind the wheel. It's great that after a two-week break we're back on track. The conditions were genuinely challenging for everyone — the wind is very strong, and Zandvoort has a lot of 180-degree turns, and when the car negotiates them the gusts affect it more than at other circuits.
Perhaps something similar happens at Silverstone, where it's felt on the entry and exit of corners. But in terms of competitiveness we haven't closed in on the leaders as much as we'd hoped, although it seems our race pace is okay.
The results of the previous two rounds were quite surprising. Aston Martin clearly wasn't in great shape, but in Hungary they went very quickly and achieved an excellent result. It seems they're quick now as well. Ferrari lacked pace today, but I have no doubt they'll fix that.
The same can be said about Max Verstappen. The race in Hungary wasn't easy for him, but I think that was most likely a one-off. So for now it looks like we'll have to fight with Aston Martin and Max, although I'm sure Ferrari will be able to step up too."
Kimi Antonelli (12th): "In the first practice I attacked from the very beginning, but I locked the brakes at turn 9 when I was trying to heat up the tyres. As a result I got stuck in the gravel, and the session ended for me after just one lap. Of course you can't call that ideal, because I missed the opportunity to work on the track, since I effectively didn't do a lap.
Of course that start to the weekend upset me, but the second session went better. We focused on short runs on soft tyres, and I was able to regain my confidence and get useful information.
Overall the hour went fine, although it wasn't without mistakes, and I still need to work on that. I'll have to work properly this evening to make improvements. But we know what to focus on, and I understand the tasks I need to address so that I can prepare well for tomorrow's practice and qualifying."
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