Mercedes
Antonelli locked up heavily in FP1, flat-spotting his tyres. But Russell fared worse, pulling over with a hydraulic issue late on and being forced to climb out. Luckily the team did not have to change his gearbox, and he was able to come out at the beginning of FP2. But the second session once again went awry for Antonelli, who beached his car in the gravel for the second time in two weekends. That brought out the red flags, and means Antonelli goes into the Saturday of his second home race short of laps.
George Russell – FP1: 1:21.110, P8; FP2: 1:20.276, P10
“It was a tricky day here in Monza. We come to what is a low downforce circuit fresh from running at Zandvoort where we are running higher downforce. The car therefore feels quite different and not quite as planted as it did the week before, particularly at the rear. Whilst it therefore didn’t feel spectacular today, the pace wasn’t too bad. The field is tight; I finished P10 in FP2 but still only just under four tenths shy of P1.
“We will look to make some improvements overnight as I suspect that it will prove to be just as competitive over the rest of the weekend. I struggled for a little bit of confidence and had a few moments, particularly at Turn 7 like Kimi. There’s definitely lap time to be found therefore and if we can unlock that, then we can be confident of having a good weekend.”
Kimi Antonelli – FP1: 1:20.940, P5; FP2: 1:21.367, P19
“I pushed a little bit too hard on my second lap in FP2 for the grip conditions and that put me in the gravel. I kept the car running but was unfortunately beached. It was a shame as I’d had a positive FP1 and my first lap on the Hard tyre was strong. It is a setback, but my confidence is still high. I felt confident in the car, and we were moving in the right direction with the set-up. We will adjust our FP3 programme a little to compensate for the lost track time, but we can still look forward to the weekend.
“It certainly looks very close out there. Just under four tenths covered the top 10 in FP2 so small improvements will make a big difference. I am excited to get back out there tomorrow and try to secure a good starting position that sets us up well for Sunday. Let’s see what we can do.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“It has been a tricky first day on track here in Monza. George wasn’t particularly happy with the balance of the car throughout and Kimi unfortunately lost track time with an off in FP2. George finished the day in P10; it’s clear that we need to find a couple of tenths but that is often the case on a Friday. The balance wasn’t where he needed it, so we know where to look for improvements.
“Kimi had a solid FP1 session and FP2 started well but ended all too soon when he got stuck in the gravel after a minor off. Despite the set-back, he’s happy with the car and had shown good pace in the first session. He’s likely to have a busy final practice recovering a bit of ground but there’s no reason he shouldn’t still be aiming for a good result tomorrow.
“Given how close the field looks, small improvements overnight may have a big impact over the rest of the weekend. We will work diligently with our team-mates both trackside and back at Brackley and Brixworth to get the most out of the car. It’s difficult to overtake here so we’ll be doing everything we can to have a strong qualifying and secure good starting positions for the grid on Sunday.”