17/05/2025 07:40
George Russell has offered a comical reaction to the pace of
McLaren, by noting how quickly Oscar Piastri disappeared after
having him "in my sights". Piastri led a McLaren one-two in both
first and second practice ahead of this weekend's Emilia Romagna
Grand Prix, whilst Russell was fourth fastest. No driver got close
to the Woking-based team, who look set to dominate in Imola.
Surprisingly, it was Alpine's Pierre Gasly in third, which caught
Russell off guard. However, the Briton is aware that Mercedes'
fight is not with McLaren, but instead with Ferrari and Max
Verstappen. "I think there was a few surprise out there," said
Russell. "Gasly put in a really strong lap, and that was a bit of a
surprise. But there's a lot of tyre degradation. "Obviously we've
got the softest compound here, first time of the season. That sort
of spices things up a bit. But we know McLaren generally seem to
extend their advantage in those conditions. "And I had Oscar in my
sights, then I didn't," joked Russell. "He sort of passed Max and
went off. So, yeah, that's just where we are at the moment as a
team. And we know our fight is with Max and the Ferraris."
McLaren's race pace was again clear of the field, with Russell
confirming that the Silver Arrows were closer over one lap pace.
"Probably closer on quali pace than we were on race runs," revealed
Russell. "I've literally just jumped up out of the car. But we're
just going out there, we've got a few new bits in the car. "Seem to
be performing okay. We're not setting the world on fire at the
moment, we've just been trying to be consistent and trying to pick
up those those points whilst we can."
