George Russell left concerned after the first two free practice sessions for the Formula 1 Hungarian GP. After Friday’s activities in Budapest, the Mercedes driver stated that Ferrari confirmed the team’s expectations by demonstrating superior performance on the Hungarian circuit.
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The Italian team dominated the day, with Charles Leclerc leading FP1 and Lewis Hamilton topping FP2. Russell finished the second session in fifth position, while Lando Norris, the best-placed non-Ferrari driver, was about half a second behind the Italian team.
According to Russell, the characteristics of the Hungaroring favored the SF-26. The tight track with many low-speed corners, combined with less influence from energy management, contributed to Ferrari’s performance throughout the day.
“It was quite a strange day for everyone. Budapest is an incredible track to drive, but half of the circuit has received new asphalt. It’s very bumpy, and in some of the final corners, the surface is starting to wear, which makes everything quite unusual,” he stated.
The Mercedes driver highlighted that the pace on fast laps left something to be desired, although the longer stints were more encouraging: “Our qualifying lap didn’t look great, but the race pace was more competitive. What we feared about Ferrari apparently confirmed itself. They looked very, very strong,” he said.
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Russell also commented on recent power unit issues in his car, following the first-lap accident at the Belgian GP. According to him, the team resolved the situation before the Budapest round, and therefore, there was no concern during Friday’s activities.
“To be honest, I didn’t even check it, because I trusted my team that everything had been resolved. Furthermore, even if we had exactly the same problem as last week, the impact here would be much smaller because of the characteristics of this circuit,” he added.
Finally, the Briton believes that Mercedes still has room to improve before the qualifying session, especially due to variable weather conditions: “For both me and Kimi (Antonelli), the car was far from ideal. We think there’s room for improvement. It’s very windy today, and the wind direction can change, which can also significantly alter the cars’ behavior,” concluded the Briton.
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