Antonelli and Russell were left to search for balance in Monte Carlo

Mercedes entered Friday practice in Monaco knowing the weekend would test the limits of the W17’s mechanical platform, and the opening day confirmed that expectation with striking clarity.

While the team showed flashes of competitiveness — particularly in George Russell’s late‑session improvements — Ferrari and Red Bull set the early benchmark, leaving Mercedes with meaningful work to do overnight.

The team’s day unfolded in two distinct phases: a solid but unspectacular FP1, followed by a more competitive FP2 that still left both drivers outside the fight for the top times.

Mercedes were among the first to switch to the Medium tyres in FP1, running before the track had fully rubbered in. That timing left both drivers slightly exposed on the timesheets, but the session still offered valuable data.

Kimi Antonelli had the upper hand early, finishing fourth with a 1:14.537, while George Russell took longer to settle into rhythm, ending FP1 in fifth with a 1:14.983.

Antonelli’s early pace, however, masked underlying difficulties that would persist into the afternoon.

The pattern reversed in FP2. Russell found confidence and rhythm, improving to P4 with a 1:13.405, while Antonelli followed in P5 with a 1:13.529. Both drivers left time on the table as they struggled to piece together a fully clean lap — a critical requirement around Monaco’s unforgiving layout.

Russell was candid about the scale of the challenge ahead: “We saw good improvements from FP1 to FP2 but if we want to be in the fight for pole and victory, we will have to take a similar step forward overnight.

"It is certainly shaping up to be the most challenging weekend of our season so far and tougher than we had hoped.”

He also acknowledged that Ferrari’s pace was expected — and that Red Bull’s competitiveness added another layer of difficulty.

“Heading into today, we expected Ferrari to be at the front as they've typically been strong here. Its cars historically, particularly on the mechanical side, seem to suit these types of tracks. That is how today played out but it was surprising to see Red Bull so competitive too.”

Despite the deficit, Russell remains optimistic that Mercedes can unlock more performance: “We've got work to do to get in the mix; we have some ideas on where we can improve though, and we know there is more lap time to unlock. If we execute perfectly and commit 100%, then hopefully we can get there.”

For Antonelli, the day was defined by difficulty in the middle sector — the heart of the Monaco lap, where mechanical grip and confidence are everything.

“It was not the most straightforward Friday of the season. I struggled with the car, particularly in the middle sector and that was limiting our pace.”

Mercedes experimented heavily with setup across both cars, gathering data that will inform their overnight direction.

“We tried a lot of different set-up options and have gathered a lot of good data. That will help us evaluate what work to do overnight and what changes to make for FP3 and Qualifying.”

Antonelli also echoed Russell’s view that Ferrari currently hold the upper hand: “Ferrari look to be in a very strong position. We know they are typically good in Monaco, and they certainly seem to be favourites for tomorrow.”

But like Russell, he believes Mercedes have not yet reached the W17’s full potential: “We know there is more time for us to find though given we didn't get the car in its perfect sweet spot yet, so hopefully we can take a step forward and be in the mix tomorrow.”

Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin offered a measured assessment of the day, noting both progress and limitations.

“It's a long time since we had a good weekend in Monaco, so we arrived here with modest expectations. We have worked hard on our preparation to try and land our start set-up in a decent place. We also were doing some cross car compares in FP1 to give ourselves plenty of data to work through.”

By FP2, the team had stabilised the car’s behaviour — but not its outright pace: “By FP2, we had landed both cars in a reasonable region, but our single lap pace was slightly off the Ferraris and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.”

Still, Shovlin sees reasons for optimism: “Encouragingly, we have a car that we can work with though and importantly can see some opportunity to make it quicker.

"We've certainly got to find a bit of pace if we want to be in the fight for the front row tomorrow, but we can take some encouragement from the fact that W17, on first impressions at least, seems a bit better suited to this track than its predecessors.”