Russell exposes huge problem on which FIA ‘could have gone even further’

Although a Mercedes-powered car still led the way — with a resurgent Piastri topping FP2 — the W17 did not assert the same dominance seen in the opening two races, with Russell ending the session two tenths off the Australian and just over a tenth clear of his team-mate.

Speaking with F1 TV at the end of the day, the Brit highlighted the major issue of super clipping from 130R through to the final chicane, stressing how it cost him valuable time and suggesting that the reduction from 9 to 8 MJ could have gone even further to better address the problem.

Looking back at campaigns like 2022 and 2009, Russell noted how early leaders were eventually overtaken as rival teams unlocked performance over time, underlining how quickly the competitive order can shift across a season.

Although Mercedes are confident more upgrades are on the way, Russell pointed to the strength of the field as a whole. Red Bull are believed to be running overweight, McLaren have yet to roll out their first major update, and Ferrari have already shown strong pace — all factors that could reshape the pecking order in the coming races.