In an unexpected turn of events, Mercedes’ F1 star George Russell has expressed concern over the team’s performance in the lead-up to the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. The Briton conceded that the squad was having difficulties realizing the anticipated performance from the soft tyres.
Russell, who showed impressive pace on harder compounds during the Friday practice sessions in Melbourne, was notably vexed by the W16’s lack of substantial progression when switching to the softest Pirelli C5 tyres. Despite his 10th place finish in FP2, the British driver maintained a positive perspective on the car’s performance on more extended runs and harder tyres.
However, Russell did not mince words when emphasizing the need for immediate solutions if Mercedes is to pose a threat in Saturday’s qualifying. He finished 0.843 seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s fastest lap, trailing behind other contenders from Racing Bulls and Aston Martin.
Russell depicted the day as a rollercoaster ride, stating, “Every time we had the medium or the hard tyre on, we were right in the top two of the time sheets and every lap felt good, felt confident. Yet, when the soft was put on, we didn’t go much quicker. Clearly, there is pace in the car – the challenge is extracting the most out of the tyre. We need to understand why that is and see what progress we can make overnight.”
While Russell acknowledged the difficulties with medium and hard tyres, he reiterated that one-lap performance is what truly counts in qualifying. He expressed optimism that the team could find improvements in the performance on the soft tyre.
Adding to Mercedes’ tribulations, rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in his inaugural full race weekend as a Mercedes driver, faced his share of challenges too. Antonelli ended up in 16th place in FP2, battling tyre warm-up issues on his fast laps. The Italian driver confessed he was still learning how to manage the C5 compound, optimistically stating, “I think I’m getting more and more confidence up, and I think the long run was quite positive today.”
Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin, shed more light on the team’s struggles while also pointing out the positives. “We were able to run cleanly in both sessions and gather good data across all compounds. The car behaved well, particularly on the long run and the harder C3 and C4 compounds,” he said. However, he acknowledged the need for improvement in single-lap performance on the soft compound ahead of qualifying.
Given the grid’s close competition, Mercedes is under pressure to find overnight answers to stay competitive for pole position in Melbourne. Russell ended on a hopeful note, saying, “I’m sure we can find some improvements tonight.”
The stakes are high and the competition fierce. Only time will tell if Mercedes can turn the tide and leverage its potential to full advantage in the upcoming race. Stay tuned for more updates from the world of motorsport.
