George Russell

It was a slightly messy day from our side. We didn’t manage to get too many clean laps in, owing to both traffic and a few efforts where we didn’t quite the tyres in the right window. We tried some different things across both cars, which was definitely valuable learning for both Kimi and myself. I think we’ve found the direction we will move in now. We were probably stronger in FP1 than FP2 ultimately. We didn’t quite take the step forward with the car that we were hoping too, but I don’t think there’s anything that we can’t improve overnight to come back stronger for Qualifying tomorrow. It was a shame not to get the long run data in due to the red flag in FP2, but everyone else is in the same boat. It’s not controversial to say that McLaren looked like they were clear in front but I’m hopeful we can be in the fight for best of the rest once again as we head into the weekend.
Kimi Antonelli

It was quite a tricky day out there today. It proved difficult to get too many clean laps in, but I’m pleased with what we were able to achieve. We worked on a lot of details, and I was able to build my confidence on the track. It is a circuit that demands a lot of confidence in the high-speed and you need to get the car close to the walls. Overall, it was positive even if I got slightly too close to the wall on the exit of the final corner on my last lap on the Soft tyre in FP2.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend now. It looks pretty close with many of our competitors behind McLaren. We don’t know the relative fuel loads and Power Unit modes of others, so we just need to focus on ourselves. We will work hard analysing the data overnight and look to come back stronger tomorrow.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We had a solid start to the weekend in FP1. The track was actually pretty clean from the start, although the higher track temperatures do cost a bit of grip. George was able to set some strong times in the early running and Kimi was a little back from there, but this is another track that he is learning in an F1 car and it was good to see him making progress with each lap. We were pretty happy with the single lap performance as the session came to a close, although we knew we had some work to do on the long run.

We made a few changes into FP2, partly to account for the cooling track and also in an attempt to further refine the balance. In the later session, the car was a bit tricker for both drivers so we'll pick through those changes on the simulator overnight and decide what to keep and what to discard. We didn't get a read on the long run due to a combination of the red flag and a few delays in our own programme. However, McLaren still look quick and we'll be working on the assumption overnight that they are the ones to beat.

George Russell

Tonight was all about the tyres and unfortunately, ours were suffering from overheating. I was pushing to stay with Verstappen at the start of the second stint, but it quickly became clear that we weren’t going to be able to hang on. I tried to manage the tyres a little more but, with the tyre age offset they had built, Leclerc and Norris were able to move ahead. After that, my tyres dropped off the cliff and it was all about just bringing the car home in P5. Ultimately, we didn’t have the pace today. Even if we had managed more at different points, that was the maximum available to us this evening.

We will take the positives we can from this weekend. We know that tyre overheating is a weakness of our car at the moment. Everyone is focused on improving that. We will have to accept coming home fifth on a bad day but we all want to make steps in that area, and quickly.
Kimi Antonelli

It was a tough race but overall, I’m satisfied to come home P6. I struggled with understeer on the Medium tyre in the first stint. The front tyres started to degrade early on, so our pace wasn’t strong in the early stages. I felt better on the Hard compound after our pit stop though and our speed in the final 10 laps was competitive. I still had to manage though as we were suffering from overheating on the tyres throughout the race.

Today’s race was still good learning for me. It has been an intense triple-header; there’s lots for me to look at and work on, but I’m also looking forward to some recovery time and to coming back stronger in Miami. We will keep pushing as a team to improve and build on our start to the season.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

That was our worst performance of the year so far. The pace dropped away as our tyres overheated and that was frustrating. We came into the race hoping we could compete for the podium but, with the limitations we had with the tyres, P5 and P6 was the maximum for us. We need to analyse our performance, work out why that was the case, and quickly find improvements. The next race in Miami is another race on a hot track surface so we will need to be better than we were today if we want to avoid a repeat performance.

Both drivers fought hard with the limitations they were facing. Even with greater management at different stages of the race, George was always going to be unable to stop Leclerc and Norris coming past. Kimi continued his development to take P6 and hold off Lewis (Hamilton). That has helped us limit the damage to our direct competitors in the Constructors’ Championship, but we don’t leave Saudi Arabia satisfied with that.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

That was our toughest race of the year so far. Starting P3 and P5, we were hopeful of being in the fight for the podium. Ultimately though, our pace was limited by overheating on both the Medium and Hard compounds. Both drivers managed early on in each stint but, when required to push the tyre harder, both axles suffered, and we couldn't extract the pace of our competitors. George was powerless to hold off Leclerc and Norris in the closing stages, who used their fresher tyres to good effect. Kimi meanwhile did a good job to stave off Lewis (Hamilton) but P5 and P6 are not results we are ever going to be satisfied with. We know that managing the tyres is an area we need to improve in, and the factory is focused on doing that.

Despite the tough evening, we have done well so far at collecting solid points over the first five races of the season. That is encouraging, but we need to build on that and do more. We have several hot races coming up and we need to get on top of our tyre management issues if we want to compete consistently at the front. We have the opportunity to do so starting in Miami in two weeks' time.

George Russell

It [FP2] was OK. We expected McLaren to be a step ahead here and we saw that today. They were a strongest in the middle sector where the tyres are overheating, so we know we’ve got a bit of work to do if we want to challenge them. I think we’re in position fighting for the next best behind them in all honesty.

I think it’s going to be close between ourselves, Ferrari and the Red Bulls. It is hard to say with confidence, but we saw both teams performing strongly at different points throughout the day. I definitely feel, unlike the last three races, this won’t be dominated by Qualifying – this weekend is going to be dominated by race pace and by tyre degradation. Of course, you want to have a good Qualifying, but the race is where the action will be.
Kimi Antonelli

FP1 was obviously quote short. Unfortunately, I had a water leak on the car, so I had to stop and couldn’t drive for the rest of the session. That was a shame because you don’t want to miss out on laps. FP2 was quite positive though. The single lap was quite good, even though I made a big mistake in sector one, and overall I felt pretty good in the car. The long run was quite tricky – completely different to what we had in testing, so I had to adapt, but overall, despite the issue in FP1, it was a positive day.

Being at a track that I know definitely helped get me up to speed more quickly today. I felt straightaway in FP2 that I had confidence with the car and despite the track being different to when I’ve driven here previously, I had the confidence to be able to push. McLaren still seem to be the favourite but I think we should be fighting for the top five in tomorrow’s Qualifying. We can definitely take the fight to the Red Bulls and Ferrari, but let’s wait and see what Saturday brings.
Fred Vesti

What a day it’s been. Yesterday was awesome to be back in the paddock and working with the team preparing for the day today. I was really happy to be back in the car – it felt really good to challenge myself and to push to the limit. Obviously spending so much time in the simulator, it’s just really nice to get time in the real car, learning more about the tyres and the W16 itself.

As a racing driver, feeling that energy through the body is something you miss a lot when you’re in the simulator. I want to thank Mercedes for giving me the opportunity again to run in FP1 and continue my journey. My motivation is very high and I will continue to push. For now, it’s back to Brackley, back to work with the team there and correlate what I’ve learned today in the simulator. We will continue pushing towards even better results and race wins.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We had Fred Vesti in the car for FP1 and he did a great job for us. The programme was designed for our learning rather than setting headline times but when we correct for the Medium compound and fuel, the times were impressive considering that it was his first time in the W16. Unfortunately, we lost Kimi's car early in the session with a water leak. We were able to quickly identify the issue and resolved it for FP2 although it was a shame to lose the running.

The cooler conditions of the evening session meant the grip was higher and the car was more together. We managed a good programme with both drivers, electing to do two Soft tyres in the conditions more relevant to Qualifying. There's plenty still to work on. The track is much hotter than the test so keeping tyres in the window is more difficult both on single lap and long run but it's a decent baseline to work from and the car is at least quite consistent in its behaviour around the lap.  As we've seen at the recent races, it's quite tight. McLaren look strong here but we expected that after testing but hopefully we can get ourselves into the podium fight.

George Russell

Today’s race was a frustrating one. With the top six cars all finishing where they started, it was a Grand Prix dictated by yesterday’s qualifying performance. It was a relatively easy one-stop strategy and, on a circuit that is very difficult to overtake at, there were few opportunities to make forward progress. We tried our best to make the undercut work on Leclerc at the end of our first stint. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace to pull it off with the traffic that we had to clear in those two laps. Whatever strategy we had attempted though, I think we would have ultimately finished P5.

Our frustration mainly comes from the fact that we didn’t optimise qualifying yesterday. With the pace we showed over practice, we had a car that could have been competing for the front two rows of the grid. It is the first qualifying session of the year where we haven’t maximised our full potential. That was a shame, but we can bounce back straight away in Bahrain. It is a very different track to Suzuka, much hotter and a more abrasive circuit. It will be fascinating to see where everyone’s relative performance is and is going to be another test for everyone.
Kimi Antonelli

Today was a good race from my side. I am happy with how it went and the speed we were able to show. Once I got in free air, the pace really improved, and I was able to extend my stint on the Medium tyre. That was a good feeling. Once we switched to the Hard tyre, the car still felt positive. I was able to put in some consistent lap times. I was catching the cars ahead but ran out of time in the end to get on the back of them. It was also a nice feeling to lead the race for a few laps and become the youngest driver in F1 history to have done so. The next goal is to do that on the only lap that matters: the final one!

It has been a good weekend overall. It’s a great track and one that I felt that I was getting on top of by the end of the weekend. Every time I get in the car, I am building my learning and feeling more comfortable with the W16. I am looking forward to heading to Bahrain. Hopefully we can keep improving and begin to fight for some of the positions further forward than we managed today.
Bradley Lord, Team Representative

We come away from Japan with solid points but ultimately feeling that there was the potential for more this weekend. Suzuka is a difficult track to overtake at and today’s race was a good example of that. George looked to have the pace on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the opening stages but didn’t quite have enough speed to make a pass. Being in the dirty air likely hurt his tyres and he therefore couldn’t deploy the necessary pace to make the undercut work before his stop. The positive is that, had we started further forward and where we believed our qualifying pace was, we likely could have competed for the podium.

Kimi meanwhile ticked off several more milestones today. He has built his confidence over the weekend at a demanding track and achieved a solid result. He also led his first laps in F1 and took his maiden fastest lap, becoming the youngest driver in history to achieve these feats. His development is encouraging to see and it’s a third consecutive strong race performance from him.

We now head to Bahrain and will be aiming to be amongst the fight for the podium there. It is a very abrasive circuit and will be another good test of the progress we have made with the W16.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today’s race was a case of what might have been for us as a team. We had shown promising pace all weekend, but Suzuka is a track that is heavily biased towards qualifying, rather than race pace. Failing to optimise our session yesterday therefore meant we knew we would be fighting an uphill battle to make significant progress today from P5 and P6. We had one eye on the weather this morning but ultimately it proved a dry Grand Prix, which limited opportunities.

The second limiting factor was the durability of the tyres, which made it a comfortable one-stop strategy for most. With George, having sat in the Ferrari’s dirty air for a good portion of his first stint, we attempted the undercut. We were close to making it work but just fell short. That left him running in a frustrating fifth to the flag.

Kimi meanwhile ran longer on his opening stint and then showed good pace in clean air to extend. That helped him not only cover the undercut from Lewis (Hamilton) but create a tyre offset to those ahead. He used that to close onto the back of George by the end of the race and take fastest lap in the process. It was another mature performance from Kimi as he continues to build his experience.

Bahrain is a very different type of circuit to those that we have raced at so far this season. The abrasive tarmac makes it a real challenge for the tyres, and it will be a good yardstick of the progress we have made with our car since last year. Hopefully we can put in a solid performance and be back in the fight for the podium once again.

George Russell

Firstly, it’s good to see that Jack (Doohan) was OK after his accident. That was a very big crash and hopefully he’ll be able to get back out in the car tomorrow morning.

From our side, we had a positive day. The car has been handling nicely, although we know the forecast wind change tomorrow will have an impact. McLaren once again looks very strong, and there were several other teams that were competitive on the single lap. It’s unusual to see so many teams so close together so we will have to be at our best to be competing near the front. If we do the job we know we can do though, I’m confident that we can be in the fight for the front two rows in Qualifying.

Given the interrupted FP2, we still have a few unknowns heading into the race on Sunday. We were only able to complete four laps on the Hard tyre. We therefore have little data to work with in terms of degradation, and any possible graining, on that compound. There is also a threat of rain for race day which could make things interesting. The important thing for Friday though is that we were competitive on the timing screens and that gives us a good platform to build on.
Kimi Antonelli

This is my first time at Suzuka and it’s an amazing track to drive! I enjoyed myself out there and I’m looking forward to building my confidence more and more as we head through the weekend. FP1 was a solid session for us, and I was able to put together some decent laps. FP2 was much more disrupted, and a little messy on my side. I wasn’t able to get a clean lap, and I didn’t get the most out of the car in sector one. We will work on that overnight, analyse the data, and come back stronger tomorrow.

There are definitely promising signs for us. George did a good job all day and was consistently near the front of the field. The balance of the car also feels good, and I know there is more that I can extract from it. I’m looking forward to getting back out there in FP3 and using that to build positively into Qualifying.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today was a decent start to our Japanese Grand Prix weekend. We got a look at all three tyre compounds, evaluate the resurfaced first sector, and got a good read on the car balance. George was up to speed immediately and delivered some competitive lap times on the single lap in FP1 and had what looked like a solid long run. FP2 was a much more disrupted hour with four red flags so there wasn’t as much we could learn.

For Kimi, this is his first time in Suzuka. It's a track that requires commitment and confidence and he's been steadily building both through the day. No doubt he'll be able to make another step tomorrow and fingers cross we'll have a clean session without so many red flags in FP3.

The wind will turn through 180° for tomorrow which tends to have a big impact on the balance here, but we can assess that on the simulator overnight and look at any changes that are required to rebalance. Added to that, there is a risk of rain on Sunday. McLaren still look like the ones to beat but it's been an encouraging start to the weekend. Hopefully we'll be in a position to fight for the podium on Sunday.