George Russell reveals that Mercedes used Friday practice at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to experiment with “radical” set-up ideas for the future, particularly aiming for 2025.
The British driver, who has been involved in a dispute with Max Verstappen after the Qatar GP, posted the fourth fastest time in FP1 on Friday morning at Yas Marina. However, he slipped to 13th place in the evening session driving his Mercedes.
Russell was overheard on his team radio complaining about a lack of grip during FP2, with his Mercedes being around a second slower than Lando Norris’ quickest lap.
Nevertheless, he clarified later that Mercedes used Friday as a testing day to explore daring ideas for the future, expecting a more conventional day on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Russell said, “Today we had some difficulties but it’s only Friday. We are testing various things in anticipation of next year.”
“This is our last opportunity and we decided to be a bit more adventurous with our set-up options, just to uncover any additional insights,” he explained. “So, hopefully tomorrow will be a more routine day and we can proceed accordingly.”
Russell commended his teammate Lewis Hamilton’s performance on Friday in Abu Dhabi, with the seven-time world champion expressing confidence that Mercedes is “in the mix.”
However, Russell sees Mercedes as “quite far behind” Ferrari and McLaren at present.
“To be honest, I think Lewis delivered some fantastic laps out there and as a team, we are lagging behind McLaren and Ferrari,” Russell noted.
“McLaren, especially, appears to be in a different league currently. As I mentioned, Lewis did a commendable job but we are still four tenths off the pace of the McLarens, which is a larger gap than what we are accustomed to.”
“So, I anticipate Ferrari and possibly Max Verstappen to rejoin the competition, but I am hopeful that we can make some improvements for tomorrow.”
