(Motorsport-Total.com) – Concerns at Mercedes: World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli only managed sixth place in the first practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix (all sessions in the live ticker!), while teammate George Russell was even eighth. It was only in the second practice in the afternoon that the Silver Arrows showed themselves in much better shape.
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“It was a huge improvement with the car, because in the first free practice we had big difficulties, much more than expected,” confirms Antonelli, who secured the best time in the second session. “So it was a good change.”
But despite the upswing, the weekend in the Belgian Ardennes does not seem to be a foregone conclusion for Mercedes. “Of course, there is still a lot to do, because Red Bull is fast, McLaren was also right up front,” the Italian knows. “We just have to bring everything together.”
However, the long run that Antonelli completed in the second practice is encouraging. “The long run felt very strong, but the car obviously changed a lot between the two sessions. So we have to work a lot overnight to be ready for [Saturday] and Sunday.”
Kimi Antonelli still lacks confidence in the car
The problems from the first practice must not be repeated, although Antonelli only speaks of a “general sliding.” “I can’t go into too much detail, but overall there were many sliding moments and we simply had difficulties gaining confidence in the car.”
Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin confirms the bumpy start. “It was a chaotic first practice in which we did not have the car optimally set,” admits the Brit. “We expected more grip, but apparently the other drivers had better control of their cars.”
Between the two practices, however, Mercedes managed to draw the right conclusions. Accordingly, the drivers were more satisfied with their cars in the afternoon. While Antonelli set the best time, Russell had to settle for eighth place again.
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George Russell struggles with problems on Friday
“It was not an outstanding lap for George, but it was only one lap,” Shovlin downplays the Brit’s problems. “If that one doesn’t go well, you quickly appear slow. He felt the tires were not optimally set at the start of the lap, which cost him some time.”
“In some corners he probably underestimated the grip, but after the first practice, that’s no big surprise. There are a few things he needs to work on, but as I said, we see much of that in the data we will analyze.”
To make matters worse, Russell also struggled with a technical problem in the morning, which meant he had slightly less power available than Antonelli. “The problem is solved, there are still a few minor things to improve, but the problem is: when the corners are slower, it affects tire usage,” explains the engineer.
Mercedes remains optimistic for the race
“And on a track like this, where you hardly get any energy, these differences are extremely amplified.” Nevertheless, the Mercedes official is not too worried: “I am quite sure that [Russell] will be right up front again tomorrow.”
And even Antonelli was of the opinion that his fastest lap in the second practice still left room for improvement. “There is definitely still something to gain. We still have to get something out because we see that the others are pretty close,” warns Shovlin.
“As far as our pace is concerned, especially on the long runs, everyone looks pretty similar, and that will probably influence the order on Sunday. I am optimistic that we can still improve a bit from our starting point.”
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