George Russell hints at drastic Mercedes overhaul at Spanish GP

George Russell has hinted that he may "row back" on set-up changes Mercedes made to his F1 car on Friday at the Spanish GP. 

Russell topped FP1 in Madrid, but fell to fifth fastest in FP2 as team-mate Kimi Antonelli topped the times, as Russell aborted his first flying lap on the soft tyres during the qualifying simulation runs. 

After a front-wing flap adjust, Russell then set the fifth-quickest time on his second lap on that set of soft tyres. 

Another factor teams must take into account at the Madring is high levels of tyre graining, with Russell feeling that if the team "are in the fight" it needed to be on top of the tyres, especially through Turn 12 - La Monumental.

"We started well in FP1, and the car was strong from the off. We made some set-up changes for FP2 but I’m not sure they improved the car so we may row back on them overnight," he said.

"The bigger question from today is the tyre degradation. It was very high in FP1 and, although it was reduced for FP2, the long Turn 12 really puts the tyres under pressure and that will be difficult to manage on Sunday. 

"That is something we will need to be on top of if we are to be in the fight this weekend.

"We’re looking forward to the rest of the weekend now. Overtaking on the long run in FP2 was really tough so qualifying will be very important. 

"We looked decent on the single lap, but with the smoothness of the tarmac here, it wasn’t always straightforward to get the tyres working for lap one. 

"That is something we will work on overnight and in FP3; hopefully we can get ourselves in the battle for pole position."

The article continues below. 

Antonelli sets the pace in FP2 in Spain

After topping FP2 at the new Spanish GP host venue from the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli spoke of the technical challenge of the circuit, and how nailing single-lap pace was going to be crucial. 

"It is a very cool circuit to drive around. It is a real challenge for us as drivers, with lots of high-speed corners and walls close by," he said. 

"You need to be very precise with your lines and good on the brakes; it is very easy to lock-up as there are a lot of places where you are braking and turning at the same time. It is a fun challenge and one that I am enjoying.

"We had a good first day here, but there is still lots of work to do ahead of the rest of the weekend. It is going to be difficult to look after the tyres on Sunday and overtaking is likely going to be a real challenge. 

"That makes our single lap work on Saturday morning even more important; we will focus on that overnight, but also look to ensure we have a good race car for Sunday."