Mercedes’ George Russell has iterated that he isn’t “getting carried away” after topping Friday Practice for 2022 Miami Grand Prix.
Having outdriven the car’s potential in the opening four races of this season, Russell benefitted from fresh upgrades as he finished second in FP1 to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc before they swapped positions in FP2 as Russell topped the session by 0.106 seconds.
The Brit post-session however urged caution over Mercedes’ improved form as he explained: “We always knew that the warm conditions here in Miami would suit our car better – we’ve suffered with getting temperature in the tyres at previous races so that’s a big factor here.”
Russell though is taking the positives from how his W13 is “running well” amidst lower porpoising than in previous races, although he iterated that it’s only Friday Practice so won’t be “getting carried away.”
“It’s a unique circuit, I was a bit unsure how I would take to the slow-speed tight section underneath the bridge, it’s a bit of a head-banger through there,” continued Russell as he praised the “amazing” but “undulating” track layout.
Russell’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton also enjoyed a positive Friday Practice as he finished eighth in FP1 before improving to fourth in FP2.
Hamilton like Russell though has urged caution about the team’s new-found pace as he echoed his teammate’s view in adding: “Today is just practice and everyone is doing something different, not showing their true pace, so we won’t get carried away.”
Hamilton though felt that the car was “similar” to previous races despite having upgrades but just more quicker amidst continued porpoising which is slowly getting less of an issue.
The seven-time champion though believes that the race is set to be “tough” due to required tyre management in “hot” weather conditions, as he admitted that the conditions reminded him of when F1 used to race at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
Hamilton also had praise for Russell’s performance amidst “positive elements” learned from both sessions as he added: “George looked great out there and the team are trying a lot of different things with our cars, so we’ll converge and hopefully take another step forward tomorrow.”
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