News summary
- Mercedes described Friday at Monza as “encouraging” after George Russell topped FP2 and the team showed strong pace.
- Russell followed a more conventional program focused on both qualifying and race preparation, while Antonelli concentrated on race work because of his grid penalty.
- Mercedes remains cautious about the competitive order, with Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all showing strong pace at different points of the day.
Mercedes ended the opening day of the Italian GP with plenty of optimism, although the team is refusing to assume that its Friday pace will automatically translate into an advantage on Saturday and Sunday.
Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, highlighted the positive signs after a day in which the team deliberately split its approach between George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli is set to start the Italian GP from the back of the grid because of a power-unit penalty, meaning Mercedes focused his program primarily on race preparation. Russell, meanwhile, followed a more conventional schedule that included work aimed at qualifying performance.
The different approaches did not prevent Mercedes from showing strong pace. Russell finished 3rd in FP1 before topping FP2 with a 1:22.559, while Antonelli completed the second session in 3rd. Russell edged Charles Leclerc in a tightly contested FP2 at Monza, with just 0.120s separating the Mercedes driver from the Ferrari.
“Overall we’ve had a good Friday here in Monza. It’s hard to know where you will end up in terms of performance going from a high downforce track like Zandvoort to a low downforce track like Monza, but the read today was fairly encouraging,” Shovlin said.
“There’s no guarantee that Friday pace translates into Saturday and Sunday, but the car is in a decent place, and we can look to find some further improvements from there,” he added.
Shovlin explained that Mercedes used the contrasting circumstances of its 2 drivers to gather additional information about the car and setup.
“The programs were quite different across the 2 cars. George was running a standard program and Kimi with his power unit penalty was more focused on race preparation,” Shovlin explained.
The strong grip available at Monza also encouraged Mercedes to experiment with lower wing levels during FP2.
“The track grip has been surprisingly good from the start and that prompted us to drop the wing level with George going into FP2. That also gave us a good cross-car compare,” Shovlin said.
The approach provided Mercedes with useful information about how different aerodynamic configurations affected the W17 around a circuit where low drag and straight-line efficiency are particularly important.
However, Shovlin stressed that Mercedes is not yet certain of its position relative to the rest of the field. Ferrari led FP1 with a 1-2, while Leclerc finished 2nd in FP2. McLaren placed both cars inside the top 6 in the second session, and Red Bull remained within striking distance despite Max Verstappen finishing only 9th.
“There is a bit of data to pick through before we make a final decision, but we’ve got overnight to do that analysis. It certainly looks tight in terms of performance; all the teams we are fighting with have shown strong pace at various times today,” Shovlin said.
“We’re not taking anything for granted but pleased that we seem to be in the fight,” he concluded.
The comments underline Mercedes’ cautious optimism heading into Saturday. Russell has already demonstrated strong one-lap pace, while Antonelli’s Friday program was designed around the long-run performance he will need when he attempts to recover from the back of the grid.
With Ferrari showing strong form at its home race and McLaren and Red Bull still in contention, Mercedes now faces an important night of analysis before FP3 and Qualifying.
FAQ
Why did Mercedes use different programs for Russell and Antonelli?
Antonelli has a grid penalty and will start the Italian GP from the back, so Mercedes focused more heavily on his race preparation. Russell followed a more standard program that included qualifying work.
How did Mercedes perform on Friday at Monza?
Russell finished 3rd in FP1 and 1st in FP2, while Antonelli was 3rd in FP2. Mercedes therefore showed strong one-lap pace across both Friday sessions.
Is Mercedes the favorite for the Italian GP?
Mercedes showed strong pace, but Shovlin stressed that the field remains very close. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all showed competitive performance at different stages of Friday.
