George Russell refuses to be engrossed in Mercedes’ promising start to the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Weekend.
The Mercedes driver led his second practice in Montreal, extending McLaren’s Lando Norris to the fastest time of 0.028 seconds. Interestingly, Russell’s fastest lap was set to medium tires, and Norris couldn’t beat it with soft.
Russell’s rookie teammate Kimi Antoneri was third queen as she backed up a strong start over the weekend.
Entering Mercedes over the weekend is a cool, hopeful situation for Canada, and is a strength of the W16 Challenger, exposed in hot weather this season.
And while that seemed to be true at least on Friday, Russell is hesitant to have a Mercedes chance.
“It could be my first time leading the leaderboard all year round!” Russell said. “It was clearly a very positive day.
“There was a higher expectation this weekend as the tires are naturally quite cold, as they are cooler and the truck is very smooth.
“We know our weaknesses. It’s when it’s hot. We struggle. When the tires get cold and cold, we’re pretty competitive.
“It was definitely today’s verification, and yet we will try to maximize this weekend.
“I think my rap was really strong today and probably optimized. There was nothing more in the tank there. We had it all on the table. Fulgen, Power, everything else, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.
“You have to be a little more realistic. You’ll see what tomorrow brings. That would be interesting.”
Russell claimed pole position at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix and finished third in the race.
