The fastest of the Mercedes drivers was George Russell in Abu Dhabi on Friday, who showed the second fastest time in the second practice. His teammate Lewis Hamilton ended the session with fourth result. In the first session the team tested different elements of the car ahead of 2023, and in the second they were preparing for qualifying and the race.
George Russell (2nd): “We had a successful day and took one of the last chances to learn something new for the next season. I tested the different components in the first training and now I look forward to 2023 with the information I gathered today.
In the second session the track temperature dropped significantly. This made the car go faster, but still in qualifying mode Red Bull is ahead of us, and on a series of laps their advantage may be even greater. In the evening we have to work, but compared to Ferrari we look quite competitive this weekend.
I would like to think that we will be fighting for top three positions in qualifying. We’ll see what Sunday brings, but for now we’ll keep working.”
Lewis Hamilton (4th): “The first training went well, which means we can make a positive prediction for the next season. In the second session, the balance of the car changed slightly due to the fact that we adjusted the settings between practices. We have some work to do in the evenings, but overall we look competitive.
In qualifying, tire check will be key. In the first session it was enough to do a slow circle for the tires to work, then in the second session it took much longer to get the rubber into working range.
We hope to have a competitive race pace this weekend, but we would like to better understand our position against other teams. We will continue to work hard in the evening and hopefully we can fight ahead. A huge thank you to everyone in the base and on the track who have worked hard all year.”
Andrew Schovlin, chief race engineer: “Exciting day. We tested a lot in first practice and didn’t pay enough attention to the usual preparation for the race. That already happened in the afternoon session – we are happy with the reliability, but we lack speed, both on a fast lap and on a long run.
It is unusual for us to have more rubber degradation than our competitors, so we will be paying closer attention to this issue to understand what it is related to. That’s what we’re most concerned about right now.
We still have some work to do, of course, but the gap is not that big, so hopefully we can compete if we take small steps in the right direction.”
Source: F1 News
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