George Russell has admitted that Ferrari’s Hungarian Grand Prix pace has confirmed Mercedes’ pre-weekend fears after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc dominated Friday’s second practice session at the Hungaroring. Lewis Hamilton led a Ferrari one-two in FP2, while George Russell finished fifth and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli could manage only 13th place.
Ferrari had already started the weekend strongly, securing first and third positions in FP1 before locking out the top two places in FP2. Although it is still only Friday, the early predictions are proving accurate: Ferrari arrived in Hungary widely regarded as a leading contender for victory, and Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are so far delivering on those expectations.
George Russell says Ferrari confirmed Mercedes’ Hungarian GP fears
For the moment, Mercedes appear to have been forced onto the defensive. George Russell finished the second practice session in fifth place, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli was only 13th on the timesheets. However, the Italian driver appeared more convincing during the race simulations.
Speaking to journalists in Budapest at the end of the day, George Russell acknowledged that his concerns about Ferrari’s speed before the weekend were proving justified.
“I think what we feared has in some way been confirmed today with Ferrari,” George Russell said. “They are the ones out in front.”
The Friday results strengthened the early indications highlighted by the pre-weekend comparison between Ferrari and Mercedes. The Hungaroring’s layout was expected to favour the SF-26, particularly because of Ferrari’s strength through low-speed corners, and the opening sessions supported that expectation.
Mercedes deployment problem no longer troubling George Russell
George Russell’s feeling behind the wheel of the Mercedes was far from ideal, partly because of the track conditions that the British driver strongly criticised. However, one encouraging aspect of his day was the absence of the power unit deployment problems that had affected him between Silverstone and the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
“The baseline pace of the car this weekend does not seem to be as competitive as we saw at Silverstone and Spa, but I’m confident. There is a lot of room for improvement,” George Russell explained.
“The feeling on track is far from ideal, but I’m sure it is the same for everyone. The wind seems to change direction, and when there are gusts of 25–30 km/h, a change in direction of 180 or 90 degrees has a real impact on the balance of the car, the sliding and things like that. So I hope tomorrow will be better.”
Hungaroring layout may conceal any remaining deployment weakness
Despite his relief, George Russell noted that the Hungaroring’s characteristics could make it difficult to determine whether Mercedes’ deployment weakness has been eliminated completely. The circuit does not place the same demands on energy deployment as venues with longer straights.
“Deployment resolved? Yes, to be honest, I didn’t even think about it, so it’s good that the issue has somehow been resolved. In any case, even if the problem had persisted, because of the nature of the track here, you probably would not have noticed it anyway,” George Russell said.
“So yes, I just need to focus on going as fast as we should in the race,” the Mercedes driver concluded.
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