George Russell: We're on the right track, but not the fastest.

      Kimi Antonelli and George Russell posted the second and seventh fastest times in the second practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Mercedes view the results of the first day of the race weekend with optimism, but do not consider themselves favorites.

      Kimi Antonelli (2nd): "Overall we had a good day. At first, lap after lap I was learning the track, and I felt comfortable behind the wheel. There's still a lot to do, but you could say we had a good start to the weekend.

      In the first practice, on the opening laps the level of grip from the track was simply shocking. But then the surface began to improve, and in the second session grip was much higher. We expect the same tomorrow, so we'll have to adjust the car's setup to match the increasing track grip.

      Given that the surface improved during the session, in qualifying it's best to go out last. On the other hand, that can cause problems if red flags appear, so finding the right balance is important. I'm not sure you should go out last in the final, but if the track continues to improve we'll take that into account."

      George Russell (7th): "Not a bad day. I think we're in the thick of the fight, but we have to stay realistic.

      There are high expectations of us this weekend, but the car has changed a lot since last year, and that has definitely made it better over the course of the season. But perhaps we're not as competitive now as we were twelve months ago. Still, we're on the right track, although Lando is quick, and Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were quick in the first practice, as was Kimi. So it's going to be a tight fight.

      I don't want to get ahead of myself, but today our aim wasn't to be the fastest. We need to stay realistic — we're on the right track, but definitely not the fastest."