Russell: This might be our best Friday yet.

George Russell finished Friday’s practice in Mexico City with the fastest time, but that was because he ran on the Soft tires in the second session, while most of the other riders took part in the Pirelli tire tests. George then also joined them, but his job for the first 45 minutes of the second practice was to catch up, as in the first session his car was driven by Nick de Vries.

George Russell (1st): “It was one of those Fridays when we were doing well. Maybe this is our best Friday overall – the car runs well, the steering feel is good.

We showed a fairly confident pace, but we are aware of the difficulties that come with the Mexican circuit. In qualifying it will be difficult to get the tires to the right temperature in one lap and on Sunday it will be difficult to control the temperature of the engine and brakes.

We hope we can compete for the podium this weekend, that’s our goal. Because we didn’t work according to the usual schedule in the second session, we don’t understand the balance of power yet when we evaluate the pace that the rivals show in a long series of circles. This poses serious problems if we have problems with the rubber warming up during the race.

We have gained useful experience that will help to better control the tire temperature next year, and in the evening we will have to work hard because the weekend does not promise to be easy. But today we gathered a lot of useful information.”

Lewis Hamilton (4th): “The session went well, in general the impressions of the machine’s work so far are good. It was a great pleasure to drive on this track as the W13 experience gets better and better as we understand its features in more detail.

We used the tire tests that took place during the second session to practice as much as possible. I don’t know yet how we look compared to other teams, as everyone was working on different programs, but I try to focus mainly on my own tasks.

The 2023 tire performs pretty much the same as the tire we’re using this season, except it’s a little more stable on long streaks and a little more temperature controlled to avoid overheating.

Of course, a lot of work has to be done during qualifying preparation to understand if we can claim high positions. But with our car you can never predict how the rest of the weekend will go, so I just hope we can build on the positive experience we had today.”

Nick de Vries (18th in the first session): “I enjoyed driving this car in the first session, we did well. Today’s program was a little different, we actually tested the solutions that will be used next year, and I am satisfied with my speed, I was more and more comfortable behind the wheel.

In addition, the session brought a lot of feelings, as I finish the work behind the wheel of a Mercedes car. I’m glad everything went well, the time working with this team was great. I am grateful to Mercedes for this opportunity, which has enabled me to learn a lot and build a good business relationship with the team. But now I’m preparing for the next chapter in my career.”