Mercedes

Antonelli’s weekend started well when he went quickest on the hard tyre at the start of FP1, but it soon derailed as the youngster parked up with a hydraulics issue. Russell wound up on top of the opening session, despite running wide on his first push lap with conditions particularly testing for the drivers out there. Russell backed up that performance with a series of quick laps in FP2, once again winding up on top of the standings. Antonelli missed a chunk of running thanks to a PU change between sessions, but once he came out he was also quick and backed his team mate up with a second place finish, setting up a tasty intra-team battle for tomorrow.

Kimi Antonelli – FP1: 1:46.265, P5; FP2: 1:43.899, P2

“It was a somewhat compromised day due to the hydraulics issue we encountered, which cost us a significant amount of track time across both FP1 and FP2. We’re still working to understand exactly what caused the problem, but the team did a great job investigating it and, as a precaution, we changed the power unit to get back on track and complete some valuable running.

“Despite the disruption, I felt comfortable in the car from the laps we were able to complete. We focused on maximising every opportunity and recovering as much track time as possible. Losing laps is never ideal, particularly on a street circuit like Baku where confidence builds with every run, but ending the day in P2 was a positive way to recover. The car felt good throughout, and we’ll keep working hard to build on that as the weekend progresses.”

George Russell – FP1: 1:45.387, P1; FP2: 1:43.347, P1

“It’s been a positive first day here in Baku. The car felt competitive over a single lap, and our race pace looks closely matched with McLaren and Red Bull. I’m sure those gaps will tighten even further when we get to qualifying tomorrow, so there’s still plenty of work to do overnight. Overall, though, it’s been an encouraging start to the weekend and a strong opening day for the team.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

“We’ve had a solid day overall. George’s car ran reliably throughout; he topped both sessions and completed a productive long run. There are still areas we can improve, as is always the case on a Friday, but the car is behaving well, and we’re encouraged by what we’ve seen so far. We don’t expect the gaps on today’s timesheets to be representative of the true competitive picture. Several of our competitors left time on the table during their soft tyre runs, so we know the field is likely much closer than it appears.

“Kimi’s day was more disrupted. A hydraulic leak on his second run in FP1 brought an early end to the session after just three push laps. As a precaution, we elected to change the power unit, which delayed the start of his FP2 and cost him further running. Despite that, he was able to complete a useful mix of low and high-fuel work, and his pace was encouraging given the limited track time he had available. There is plenty to analyse overnight and some small gains to find, but overall we’ve made a positive start to the weekend.”