George Russell: I didn't feel confident

      Mercedes cannot be happy with Friday's outcome, since George Russell managed only 10th, and Kimi Antonelli ended up second-to-last in the classification after going off track at the very start of the second session. He admits, however, that he overdid it himself, although the car gave a good impression, whereas Russell felt uncomfortable at the wheel.

      George Russell (10th): "We're back at a track where you have to set the cars up for minimum downforce, and you could say the rear tyres are 'floating' here, and the car's behaviour is quite unstable, nothing like it was in Zandvoort.

      A difficult day. I didn't feel confident, I was uncomfortable, although the times are very close here. I'm only tenth, but I'm only just over three tenths off the leaders. Usually, if we lose three tenths, we end up right behind McLaren.

      Tyre work has obviously affected the results, and I expect the same tomorrow, but I have no doubt we can make some improvements. I tried today to find ways to build confidence, but I also had a few hairy moments, including in that same Turn 7 where Kimi went off.

      At the moment it's hard for us to keep the car in a comfortable window, but tomorrow is a new day and I hope it goes better. Although, to be honest, our race pace is more or less okay."

      Kimi Antonelli (19th): "On my second lap in the second session I didn't take into account how low the grip was and attacked too aggressively, which is why I ran into the gravel. The engine didn't cut out, but unfortunately the car got stuck.

      It's a shame that happened, because the first practice went well and my first lap on the hard tyres was quite confident. The incident set us back, but my confidence is still high.

      In terms of setup work we were moving in the right direction. We'll have to tweak the FP3 programme a bit to make up for the lost time, but we still have reasons to be positive this weekend.

      There's no doubt the running is very tight. After the second practice the top ten is covered by less than four tenths, so even small improvements can make a big difference. I'm looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow and trying to put in a good qualifying lap to start on Sunday from a fairly high position. We'll see what we can do."