Why pacesetter George Russell is hesitant about Mercedes’ chances

George Russell is refusing to get carried away with Mercedes’ promising start to the F1 Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

The Mercedes driver topped second practice in Montreal as he edged out McLaren’s Lando Norris to the quickest time by 0.028 seconds. Intriguingly, Russell’s fastest lap was set on medium tyres, with Norris unable to beat it on softs.

Russell’s rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli was third-quickest as Mercedes backed up their strong start to the weekend.

Coming into the weekend Mercedes were hopeful cooler conditions in Canada would play to the strengths of their W16 challenger, which has been exposed in hotter weather this season.

And that appeared to ring true on Friday at least, but Russell remains hesitant about Mercedes’ chances.

“It might be my first time top of the leaderboard all year!” Russell said. “Obviously a very positive day.

“We had higher expectations coming into this weekend because cooler conditions, the track is quite smooth so the tyres naturally run quite cold.

“We know our weakness, which is when it’s hot we struggle. When it’s cold and the tyres run cold, we’re pretty competitive.

“So that was definitely validation today. Nevertheless we will try and maximise this weekend.

“I think my lap was really strong today, probably optimised. There was nothing more in the tank there. We had it all on the table, full beans, power and all the rest so let’s see what tomorrow brings.

“You’ve got to be a little bit realistic. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. It’ll be interesting.”

Russell claimed pole position at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix and finished third in the race.