‘There was nothing more in the tank’ – Russell keen to manage expectations despite ‘very positive’ FP2 performance in Canada

After topping the timesheets during second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell was keen to explain that he had maximised the Mercedes’ performance and insisted “you’ve got to be a little bit realistic”.

The Brackley-based outfit consistently brought home at least 18 points each weekend across the opening six rounds of the season, but the most recent triple header held across the Europe saw them lose ground to their rivals, with another 18 points spread across all three races.

FP2: Russell narrowly leads Norris and Antonelli in Canada after Stroll strikes the wall

Their low point came in Monaco when neither Russell nor Kimi Antonelli finished in the top 10, but the cooler conditions at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve have so far seemed to suit their car as both drivers occupied the top three at the end of FP2, split only by Lando Norris.

The improved result came as the field struggled with the lack of grip around the track, with many failing to make the corners and either taking to run-off areas or making contact with the wall, like Charles Leclerc in FP1.

Russell was able to find the necessary balance early in the second session, and later said: “It might be my first time top of the leaderboard the whole year! 10 races in… no, obviously we’ve had a very positive day.

“We had higher expectations coming into this weekend because of the cooler conditions. The track’s quite smooth so the tyres naturally run quite cold and we know our weakness, which is when it’s hot, we struggle and when it’s cold, the tyres run cold, we’re pretty competitive.

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“That was definitely validation today. Nevertheless, we’ll try to 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 tomorrow, it’ll be interesting.

"Clearly, a number of teams are thinking about this medium tyre as well so come Qualifying, do you go on the soft? Do you go on the medium? That’s one of the challenges so far when we’ve had this C6 compound.”

Antonelli, who improved 10 positions from P13 in FP1 to third in FP2, similarly faced difficulties in recent rounds when it came to the softer tyre, but said that his time on track in Canada has already increased his confidence levels.

“It was a good day, a decent day to be honest,” he summarised. “This track is pretty fun, it’s not easy but so far I’ve been enjoying it quite a lot. I’m pretty happy because I’m understanding more and more the C6, which was the main point for me after the two difficult weekends in Imola and Monaco.

WATCH: Stroll crashes during second practice in Canada as he makes return from injury

“The progress has been there – obviously there’s still quite a bit of work to do but a single lap felt pretty okay, and then the long run felt good as well. We’ll try to keep pushing in order to improve for tomorrow.

“The car felt strong today and the pace was definitely there. [The conditions] help everybody a bit, but for us the car is definitely very connected. I’ll do my best to try and be up there and to put on a fight – that’s definitely the goal. We’ll see, but I’m really trying to build the right confidence in order to be ready for Qualifying.”