Mercedes does not see itself beyond 5th place in Australia

As in Bahrain and Jeddah, Mercedes not expecting an incredible performance in Melbourne. However, the German team seemed in good shape on the Albert Park track on Friday morning, with 2nd place in Lewis Hamilton during EL1. But the two drivers returned to the ranks during FP2, in a session disrupted by rain (Hamilton 13th, Russell 4th).

According to the seven-time world champion, it is difficult to hope for an upset during qualifying for the Silver Arrows. “We will not be in competition with Red Bull. It will just be a matter of trying to see if we can go as high as possible. I think we have the pace to be around 5th place, like in the last race”, confided the Briton, who remains cautious about the hierarchy established this Friday and the data collected.

“The car felt a little better this morning, we made a few changes, but they didn't work, so we will review them this evening. Then it rained, so it wasn't the best session. We don't learn much when we're between two conditions. »

A step forward during FP2 at Mercedes

Same story with George Russell, who however believes that the balance of the car had improved for him between the two sessions. “FP2 was obviously a bit frustrating for everyone with the weather arriving a bit surprisingly, but it was a reasonable session for us,” he commented. We have taken a step forward from the first session, which is a good thing. »

Fourth at the finish of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago, the young English driver believes that Mercedes can still improve before qualifying, but also believes that it will be difficult to grab the top 4 in Melbourne. “We have to see how this translates tomorrow. I wasn't happy with the car in the first free practice session and I was pretty happy with the car in the second, so yeah, it's not that bad. »

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