©Mercedes
George Russell has revealed that he used Friday's opening day of running at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as an opportunity to experiment with radical set-up ideas, focusing on gathering valuable data for Mercedes’ 2025 season.
The Briton explained that the team saw Yas Marina as its final opportunity this season to experiment with unconventional setups, even if it meant compromising performance this weekend.
Russell, who has been under the spotlight this week following a heated off-track feud with Max Verstappen, posted mixed results during Friday's sessions.
He was fourth-fastest in FP1 but dropped to 13th in FP2, a session where grip issues plagued his performance.
“Today we struggled a bit but this is only Friday,” he told Sky Sports F1. “We’re trying a lot of things in preparation for next year.
“Obviously this is our last opportunity and we wanted to go, let’s say, a little bit more radical with some of the set-up options, just to see if there’s anything more we can learn.
“So, hoping tomorrow will be a bit more of a normal day and go from there.”
While Russell wrestled with his car’s handling, his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, delivered stronger performances and expressed optimism about Mercedes being "in the mix."
However, Russell maintained a more cautious outlook, noting that the team is currently far from challenging their rivals, particularly McLaren and Ferrari.
“To be honest, I think Lewis did some great laps out there and I think still, as a team, we’re a long way off McLaren and Ferrari,” he added.
“McLaren especially seem to be in a league of their own at the moment.”
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Russell highlighted the deficit to McLaren, describing their performance as unusually dominant.
“As I said, Lewis did a great job but we’re still four tenths behind the McLarens, so that’s bigger than we usually expect,” he noted.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Russell expects Ferrari and Red Bull to rebound, tightening the competition further.
“I expect Ferrari to probably get back in the mix, Max [Verstappen] to probably get back in the mix, but I hope we can make some improvements for tomorrow,” he added.
Against the emotional backdrop of his farewell weekend to the Mercedes team, Hamilton fended off the distractions and kept himself within the top five during both of Friday’s sessions.
“It’s not been such a bad day. Very surreal, and I’ve just tried to be really as present as I can be today and just enjoying every moment,” said the future Ferrari driver.
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“So, from arriving, to seeing the engineers and really just taking moments and really capturing them as much as I can, and then to getting ready and getting in the car.
“I’ve really enjoyed the day, I’ve really enjoyed driving the car today and working with the guys in the garage and the engineers.
“We’ve got some work to do. The McLaren’s are still so fast, as is Ferrari, but we’re in the mix kind of but have got to find some time.”
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