Russell admits Mercedes ‘not close’ to frontrunners on Friday at Silverstone as he hopes for cooler weather

George Russell conceded that Mercedes were “not close” to the frontrunners during the opening day of action at Silverstone, with the Briton admitting that the squad are hoping for the temperatures to drop during the remainder of the weekend.

After ending Free Practice 1 in fifth place on the timesheets, Russell classified eighth in the second session on a lap seven-tenths off the pace-setting time of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

When asked how close he felt to those at the front following Friday’s running, the 27-year-old answered: “Well after today not very close, but it has been warmer today. The track was 40 degrees and we are hoping the rest of the weekend it cools down.

“So it is a little frustrating for us that every single week we are at the mercy of the weather and we need to improve that, especially now we are entering the summer months. We are doing everything we can to improve it.

“I think our fortunes will turn a little bit and it will come back towards us but, as I said, we can’t be at the mercy of the weather and we are right now.”

With Ferrari proving to be McLaren’s closest competitors during Friday, Russell suggested that the Scuderia have taken a step forward.

“Ferrari have really turned it up the last couple of races,” the 27-year-old explained. “They’ve been strong in race pace all season really, but they’ve been having bad Qualifyings.

“But I think now we are entering summer, everyone is overheating a little bit more and we are probably taking a step backwards, and they’ve taken a step forward purely because of the temperature.

“So that’s probably not great for them for some reasons, but it is also not great for us for other reasons too. Anyway, I’m enjoying being here at Silverstone, enjoying seeing all the fans. I love this race weekend and I just hope we can improve for the rest of the week.”

Despite having a tricky Friday, Russell responded positively when asked if the arrival of rain or gustier conditions could put Mercedes back in the fight for pole position on Saturday.

“Yeah for sure, coldness definitely. If it is wet for Qualifying then definitely excited for that,” the four-time race winner said. “It’s a bit of a unique one because the wet tyres actually deg more than the dry tyres.

“It’s like, I don’t want to get too bogged up in the details here but actually a wet race probably wouldn’t be ideal. But we just want it… cold and dry would be ideal.”

Kimi Antonelli echoed his team mate’s sentiments about the difficulties of Friday, the Italian having placed P9 and P6 in first and second practice respectively.

“[It] was definitely not the easiest today, but I’m having quite a lot of pleasure driving around here,” Antonelli reflected. “Today, temperatures were quite a bit higher than expected.

“Overall to be honest the car didn’t feel too bad, there is a little bit to work on and a little bit to work on with the driving. But tomorrow hopefully it is going to be a lot cooler, that is what the forecast is saying, and we’ll see what we can do.”

Like Russell, Antonelli is hopeful that Mercedes can be in the battle with Ferrari and McLaren if the temperatures cool as the British Grand Prix event progresses.

“Hopefully, that is definitely the goal,” the 18-year-old added. “I think hopefully it is going to cool down. Tomorrow is predicted to be overcast so probably track temp will be a bit cooler. I don’t know by how much, but a little bit cooler and hopefully we can take the fight to Ferrari and the McLarens.”