Mercedes F1 Team Faces Tough Friday Practice in Monaco, Ferrari Dominates
Mercedes-AMG Petronas drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli ended Friday practice in Monaco in fourth and fifth respectively, with Ferrari leading both sessions and the team struggling with tire temperature imbalanc…
- 1:13.405
- 1:13.529
- P4
What Happened
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team completed the first two practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, with drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finishing fourth and fifth in FP2 respectively. Both drivers used all three tire compounds throughout the day, but struggled with car balance, particularly in the middle sector. Ferrari led both sessions and appears to be the favorite for pole position.
- 1:14.983 (P5)
- 1:13.405 (P4)
- 1:14.537 (P4)
“From FP1 to FP2 we saw clear improvements. But if we want to fight for pole and the win, we need to make a similar step overnight. Ferrari seems to be in a very strong position, and Red Bull was surprisingly competitive. We have some ideas for improvement and know there is more lap time to come.”
“It wasn't the easiest Friday of the season. I struggled with the car especially in the middle sector, which limited our pace. We tried many different setup options and gathered a lot of good data. Ferrari looks very strong, but we can still improve as we haven't found our sweet spot yet.”
Why this matters
The performance gap to Ferrari and Red Bull shows Mercedes faces a challenging weekend; improving car balance overnight is critical to compete for the top positions.
Terms in This Story
- FP1
- Free Practice 1, the first practice session of a Formula 1 weekend.
- FP2
- Free Practice 2, the second practice session.
- Pole Position
- The first starting position on the grid, awarded to the fastest qualifier.
- Setup
- Adjustments to a car's suspension, aerodynamics, and other settings to optimize performance for a particular track.
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