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George Russell was the fastest at the end of Friday practice, but he believes that things could change in qualifying and the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.
Russell was fifth quickest in FP1, which started in wet and windy conditions. By the time FP2 began, the rain had stopped and the track had dried up, although gusty winds were still a factor.
He finished the session with a best time of 1:10.702s, putting him 0.0671s ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton a tenth behind in third, followed by Lando Norris.
It appeared that new upgrades have kept Mercedes and McLaren evenly matched after the summer break, with little to differentiate them while Red Bull and Ferrari seemed to have fallen behind.
However, Russell does not believe that any definitive conclusions can be drawn from today’s challenging conditions. He thinks that the possibility of more rain tomorrow could shake things up for qualifying.
“It was incredibly windy, probably the windiest I’ve experienced in the past few years,” he said. “In the first six races, the car was off the pace but the weather was consistent and the race weekends were pretty straightforward.
“Suddenly, as soon as the car has been competitive in Canada and Silverstone, we’ve faced all sorts of challenges! But it’s the same for everyone,” he noted. “It was good to be back in the car and get back into the groove.”
“The car was performing really well. We got the upgrades on, which seem to be working as expected,” he added. “The updated floor we brought to Spa seemed to be working effectively.
“The battle with McLaren and Max appears to be quite close, but it could all change again tomorrow,” he observed. “The front pack seems to be tightly bunched once more. We anticipate another exciting battle for the podium positions over the weekend.”
Hamilton, haunted by a poor qualifying performance last year which saw him start from P13, was feeling more positive this time in his final outing at Zandvoort with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari in 2025.
“It was a good start to the weekend,” he said. “It’s a significant improvement from last year. The car feels much more responsive, and we are right up there at the front.
“We have a much better understanding of the car now,” he continued. “Starting on the right foot and making minor adjustments from there makes our job more enjoyable.”
“There’s still more performance left,” Hamilton noted. “I didn’t maximize my lap on the Soft compound tire, so that’s encouraging for qualifying.
“I need to fine-tune the setup a bit. I don’t think I looked particularly quick; I believe the setup I had for qualifying or a single lap was affecting the long run.”
“We will analyze the data from the long runs tonight and see if we can make additional improvements overnight.”
Hamilton also expressed uncertainty about his chances of winning this week after his Spa victory following Russell’s disqualification, “but we are definitely at least in the top five.”
From the team’s perspective, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin stated that the W15 had been performing well despite the challenging conditions they faced.
“Heavy rain and strong winds made it challenging to evaluate the updated floor we introduced in Spa,” he acknowledged. “Nevertheless, the initial results seem to align with our expectations, so we will continue with it on both cars this weekend.
“The car has been performing well. The single lap performance looks strong, although qualifying is likely to be tight with Verstappen and the McLarens as they all looked competitive today.
“There are areas where we can improve in that regard, but the others are likely in the same position,” he cautioned. “Norris looked particularly strong this afternoon, and we will need to step up to match his pace.
“If we can get the car dialed in correctly, we can be competitive,” he concluded. “Based on today’s performance, it appears that we should be in the mix at the front tomorrow.”
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