Russell: I think we can close the gap.

      George Russell finished fourth in the Monaco practice sessions and was the best of the Mercedes drivers – Kimi Antonelli climbed to fifth place in the standings.

      George Russell (4th): "We expected the Ferrari drivers to be faster than us. Many thought it was just talk, but this team is really our main competitors. However, Red Bull surprised us a bit too.

      We knew that out of all the races, this one would be the most challenging for us. So far, things are turning out to be a bit more difficult than we hoped, but between the two practice sessions, we managed to make a number of noticeable improvements to the setup.

      In the evening, we will continue to work on the car to make another similar step forward, as we are not quite getting everything right yet, and we need to achieve further progress.

      Honestly, I see a trend: every year Ferrari performs excellently here in Monaco and on other street circuits as well. What we are seeing today has probably been happening for the last ten years. Ferrari cars have certain characteristics, primarily related to the chassis dynamics, which work perfectly on such tracks.

      We are doing everything we can to try to achieve the necessary improvements, and I think we can close the gap if we really try, although I don't have complete confidence."

      Kimi Antonelli (5th): "Not the easiest Friday of the season. I had issues with the car, especially in the second sector, which affected the speed. We tried different setup options and gathered a lot of information. This will help assess what needs to be worked on in the evening and what to change in the car before the third practice and qualifying.

      The Ferrari drivers look very fast. We know they usually perform well in Monaco, so they will definitely be the favorites tomorrow. We still need time, as we haven't managed to get the car into optimal condition yet. I hope we will make a step forward and fight tomorrow."