Mercedes starts strong at Suzuka as Russell and Antonelli dominate race simulation

Mercedes enjoyed one of their most encouraging opening days of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locking out the top two positions in FP1 and showing competitive pace again in FP2.

The Silver Arrows looked sharp from the outset, completing their full programme without issues and positioning themselves as early contenders heading into Saturday.

In FP1, Russell topped the timesheets with Antonelli just 0.026s behind, the pair once again pushing each other closely. Antonelli’s lock‑up on his first soft‑tyre run suggested there was more time left on the table, but the Italian recovered well in the afternoon session. In FP2, he outpaced Russell to take P2, though both Mercedes drivers were narrowly beaten by Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.

Despite McLaren’s late-session surge, Mercedes’ overall pace and consistency marked a strong start to the weekend, giving the team confidence ahead of qualifying.

George Russell ended the day with P1 in FP1 (1:31.666) and P3 in FP2 (1:30.338). The Briton relished the challenge of Suzuka and reflected on the performance of the new‑generation cars around the iconic circuit: “It’s great to be back here at Suzuka; it’s an incredible circuit and always a challenge behind-the-wheel.

"There has been a lot of noise about how these new cars would behave around this track and their relative pace. There are a couple of areas on the single lap that we are slightly slower into the apex, but the Esses are still super challenging and the speeds we are achieving halfway down the back straight are some of the fastest we’ve ever done. That’s been pretty cool and good to see.

“Overall, we had a decent Friday out there. It was a little surprising to see the pace of McLaren but there is no reason to believe that it isn’t genuine.

"We’ve clearly got some work to do overnight to find some pace if we are to challenge them tomorrow. Fortunately, we have several areas where we are aiming to improve and hopefully, we can do that overnight. We will find out where we stand come qualifying.”

Russell’s comments underline both optimism and caution — Mercedes is competitive, but McLaren’s pace cannot be ignored.

Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive rookie campaign with a strong showing, finishing P2 in both sessions with times of 1:31.692 (FP1) and 1:30.225 (FP2). The Italian was satisfied with the team’s progress but highlighted areas for improvement: “We’ve had a decent Friday here at Suzuka.

"We got through our full programme and managed to gather data across all three compounds. Whilst we’re pleased with what we’ve accomplished, we’ve got work to do. McLaren in particular have looked very quick, and several other cars are not too far away either.

“The W17 feels good but with changeable wind conditions and cooler tyres, it’s been tricky to put our laps together. Improving the overall balance is therefore an objective overnight and, if we can do so, then hopefully we can make sure we’re in the fight for pole position on Saturday. That could be key given the difficulty we usually face in overtaking here. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”