The Brit didn't reach the top 10 in either FP1 or FP2 today

Russell faces tough task: 'Are often better on Sunday'

General

russell reaction after FP2 gp monaco 2023
26 May 2023 at 18:11
  • Toby McLuskie

George Russell did not have the Friday he had hoped for in Monaco. He couldn't get further than a 15th-place finish in FP1 and a 12th-place finish in FP2, the Mercedes driver did not make it. The British driver, therefore, does not really know the answer to the question of whether the updates are working or not. According to him, we will only see that later, in Spain.

"As we said yesterday, Monaco is such a unique circuit. It's not really the place to be evaluating any updates or changes and we knew that coming into the weekend," Russell interjected in Monaco at a press event organised by his employer. The 25-year-old driver went on to say that Mercedes' focus now is therefore entirely on improving qualifying pace.

There is still room for improvement when talking about single-lap speed: "Qualifying is a part of the weekend where we generally struggle, we always do better on a Sunday, when you look at the last 18 months, so we need to try and figure some stuff out overnight."

What can Russell do in the race?

After all, P15 and P12 are not enough when qualifying on Saturday. Who will Mercedes fight with on Sunday? "We hope with Aston Martin and Ferrari, that's where we're aiming towards. Obviously Red Bull are a little bit in a league of their own at the moment. The midfield is tight and we've seen a number of times this year that a McLaren or an Alpine or even a Haas jumps ahead of us on a Saturday, but they're nowhere on a Sunday," Russell said.