Russell realistic: 'Conditions today were not representative'

Mercedes finished Friday at Suzuka with first and second times, but George Russell is under no illusions. Realising that Friday's timesheets are unlikely to be representative of the rest of the weekend, he is not setting his expectations too high.

Russell closed Friday in Japan as the fastest man and admits that gives a good feeling, but he remains realistic about his chances on Saturday and Sunday. "It is always nice to end the day top of the time sheets, and it was a decent improvement from FP1 when we were pretty much at the bottom," the Briton began in a Mercedes press release.

Russell remains realistic

However, he does not simply assume that Mercedes will come out as strong on Saturday as they did in the second free practice. "The wet conditions today were probably not that representative for the rest of the weekend, but it was a good learning opportunity for the future," Russell continues. He cites the transition from full wets to intermediates as an example. Even if that knowledge does not pay off this weekend, it may do so in the future.

Given the changing track conditions, Russell does not yet dare make any predictions for the rest of the weekend. "I've no idea what to expect tomorrow in the dry - we will be battling for the top six positions, and hopefully we have a shot at something better than that," the Mercedes driver concluded.