Russell had fun in rainy conditions in Montreal
The opening day in Montreal was heavily affected by the Canadian weather, as rain interfered both practice sessions. However, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton claimed that they had "fun" in the challenging conditions on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Despite the difficult conditions, the Brackley-based team had an encouraging day, as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell felt comfortable in various conditions.
Having introduced several upgraded parts in the previous two rounds, Mercedes brought some new parts with them to Montreal, including the new front wing that Russell had already run in Monaco and which is now available for use on both cars.
The second session came to an end with Russell in P2 and Hamilton in P7. In fact, it could have been even better for Mercedes as the seven-time world champion set the fastest time in the first two sectors on the Soft tyre, but then had to abort his lap when he hit traffic into the final chicane.
Russell commented: "It was good fun out there today. It was difficult to take many learnings into the rest of the weekend as each lap the conditions were changing. First it was spitting, then it was drying, then it was raining again!
"The car was feeling good overall, but we will only learn about our position relative to others tomorrow. I had faith in the car today though and felt confident throughout.
"In FP3, you are usually very focused on your Qualifying performance. However tomorrow, we are also going to have to evaluate our race pace. We are going to have to be very clear on the changes we want to make ahead of Qualifying. In all honesty, there won’t be a lot that any driver or team learnt today. The weather could be similar tomorrow though so it’s going to be interesting."
Putting Shov's #CanadianGP knowledge to the test 👀
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 7, 2024
60s to say as many facts as he can 😁 Watch to see how he does 💪 pic.twitter.com/h30ikvjLuv
Expanding on his day, Hamilton added: "It felt great out there today. I was raring to go throughout no matter what the conditions. I was pleased that we were able to maximise our time on track as that is what is needed around a circuit like this. It’s all about building your pace. Today, it was also about understanding the conditions plus the new surface they’ve laid.
"The car felt strong throughout and I didn’t even get to finish what would have been my fastest lap. This is one of the best circuits we go to, so I really enjoyed myself out there.
"Recently, Saturday’s have proved more challenging for us, but I feel confident out there and that the car is reacting to my inputs. Ultimately, we won’t know until tomorrow afternoon just where we are in the order but today was a really good day overall," the Briton said.
