George Russell has admitted that he and the Mercedes team have been left “scratching our heads” following their impressive start to the weekend in Vegas.
Despite struggling for most parts of this season, Mercedes look to be finding some fortune so far under the bright Vegas lights. Lewis Hamilton topped both FP1 and FP2 on Thursday evening, with Russell featuring in the top three in both sessions.
Many teams look to be struggling with the low grip surface of the Vegas track, as well as getting their tyres up to temperature. However, these issues do not seem to be affecting Mercedes, with an impressive early showing in Vegas from the W15 thus far.
The Brackley team are looking to bounce back from a poor performance last time out at the São Paulo Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows have had many ups and downs in 2024 but, will be looking to end the season on a high note.
Speaking to the media, as reported by racingnews365.com, Russell admitted that he and the team were pleasantly surprised with their strong showing around the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
“Incredible day,” Russell said. “I’d love to tell you why, to be honest, we are scratching our heads a little bit, why it was so, so positive.”
“Obviously, it was only practice. Lewis did a really great job out there as well. He’s been really on it since lap one, but the car has just been working.”
“We’re on a street track, it’s really dirty, it’s getting faster and faster every lap.”
“Because we were fast today, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to replicate it tomorrow, when the track will be probably three seconds faster. So, pleasantly surprising.”
Russell not getting too carried away
Despite Mercedes’ positive start to the weekend, Russell is not getting carried away by the team’s strong pace, as he believes their rivals will look to close the gap tomorrow.
“There’s a possibility that will happen again tomorrow, but the gap we showed this morning and this evening has been pretty substantial.”
“But I’m sure the other rivals are going to work hard overnight and close that gap, but I just hope we can continue the form.”
Can Mercedes continue their early form thus far into qualifying and the race in Las Vegas? Or will the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull catch up to them?
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