Antonelli: One of the best Fridays in a long time
On Friday in Mexico Kimi Antonelli beat his team-mate in the second practice, but in the first George Russell handed the cockpit to reserve driver Frederik Vesti.
Kimi Antonelli (3rd): The day went well. It’s probably one of the best Fridays in a long time. I immediately felt comfortable and quickly found the right rhythm. The first practice was slightly better than the second – between sessions we changed a few things, and not all the ideas worked. In the evening we will analyse everything and decide what to keep and what to change before the third practice.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. We have good pace on both low and high fuel, and the track condition will improve. It’s important to progress along with it. We will do everything we can.
George Russell (6th): Formula 1 drivers rarely have the chance to watch the cars from the outside, from the stands, and today in the first practice, when Frederik Vesti got into the cockpit of my car, I did just that! It was interesting, and I’m glad Fred did a great job.
The second practice produced very tight times. The track is short, the gaps are minimal. We looked strong over a quick lap, and that matters here – qualifying will determine the pecking order in the race. All focus is on tomorrow; we’ll see what we can do. It looks like the fight among the top eight cars will be very close.
Frederik Vesti (14th in the first session): It’s great to get back behind the wheel of the W16. I’ve spent thousands of hours working with the team in Brackley on the simulator to help develop the car together with George, Kimi and Valtteri. Getting a second stint at the wheel after the first practice in Bahrain was simply fantastic. These sessions are very important because they help us improve correlation.
The hour on track went well. I posted consistent laps and we completed the whole programme. You always want to do more and set the fastest possible time, but I got out of the car very happy and satisfied with the work done.
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Antonelli: One of the best Fridays in a long time
On Friday in Mexico City Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of his teammate in the second practice, but in the first George Russell ceded the cockpit to reserve driver Frederik Vesti.