George Russell claims Mercedes’ W15 was ‘reasonably competitive’ against the usual front runners during Imola practice

Both Mercedes drivers were in the top 5 at the end of Free Practice 2.

George Russell claims Mercedes’ W15 was ‘reasonably competitive’ against the usual front runners during Imola practice

George Russell (via IMAGO)

The Brackley-based Mercedes F1 team has had an immense struggle since the start of the 2024 season. The outfit has found it extremely difficult to get on top of its W15 but to their pleasant surprise, both Georg Russell and Lewis hamilton looked quite competitive during Imola’s Friday running!

George Russell is very pleased with the pace that he was able extract out of the Mercedes challenger, and thus, is having a positive outlook toward the rest of the ongoing race weekend. Both the W15’s were in the top 5 at the end of FP2.

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Hamilton managed a time of 1.16.297 that was good enough for fourth place whereas Russell put on board a time of 1.16.311 that proved enough for a fifth place!

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The car was feeling great today and both Lewis and I were happy behind-the-wheel. We looked reasonably competitive and slightly closer to the front of the field than we looked in Miami. Come Qualifying tomorrow we will find out exactly where we stand in the pecking order. McLaren looked very strong along with Ferrari but hopefully we can find a bit more speed.
George Russell said in the post FP2 interviews

The 26-year-old has made it quite clear that the W15 is working very well around the Emilia-Romagna racing circuit! Moreover, he has admitted that from Mercedes’ point of view, it will be important to find more pace to challenge the lights of Ferrrai, McLaren, and Red Bull during the upcoming Imola sessions.

George Russell immensely pleased with the ‘motivation’ within Mercedes

While Russell has is upbeat during the ongoing Imola race weekend, he feels that the motivation within Mercedes is playing a key role. The Brit genuinely believes the performance that he and Lewis Hamilton have managed to extract from the W15 is because of the commmitment level of the personnel working behind the scenes on the German team.

Mercedes' George Russell
George Russell (via IMAGO)

The 26-year-old has so far proved to be the superior driver in the Mercedes head-to-head tussle.

The team has done a great job to bring the updates to the car so quickly. It definitely feels like a step forward at this point. It's great to see the motivation within the team despite having a few tough races recently.
George Russell said in the same interview

The Toto wolff-led outfit is currently the fourth fastest team on the 2024 F1 grid. McLaren has put in better performances in comparison to them, but keeping in view the performance output of the W15 in Imola, the upcoming Grand Prix could see Russell and Hamilton get the jump on Lando Norris and Co. Moreover, with Red Bull struggling, a few surprises could be in store for the die hard Mercedes fans.

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