Russell casts doubt on Mercedes qualifying chances

George Russell predicts that Mercedes will be on the "tail-end" of the leading cluster of cars when qualifying gets underway for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.

In a mixed up Friday practice day, which was hampered by system issues in free practice one, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell topped the second free practice session for Mercedes.

However, despite the headline result, the Mercedes pair were helped by setting lap times when the track grip levels had improved later on in the session, prior to the rain showers.

The Brackley-based team are looking to build on their impressive showing at the previous round in Spain, but Russell is expecting to see a similar trend this weekend, where both drivers struggle in qualifying before fighting back in the race.

Speaking after practice, Russell believed that the upgraded Mercedes W14 car will enjoy a similar performance boost at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but cautioned that it may only be evident in the race.

"I think between Barcelona and here, they're two totally different circuits," Russell told media.

"Barcelona is a super smooth, high-speed circuit. Here it's incredibly bumpy. But I do think that the upgrades we brought to the car in Barcelona have helped the limitations that we probably would have had more of with the old specification of car.

"We need to find out where we're going to be, I think we're still on the tail-end, especially in qualifying pace compared to Ferrari and Aston Martin. Valtteri looked quick too, maybe an Alpine [could do well].

"But, we always know things come to us on a Sunday, so that's when it's going to matter. It looks to be wet [in qualifying], so let's see what it brings."

When asked about the potential qualifying opportunities in changeable conditions, Russell responded: "I tried last year and I put slicks on when it was still wet and backed into a wall. So I'll think twice this time when we do that!"

"Obviously, we're here to try and achieve some big results. Everybody's putting so much hard work in, and sometimes you've got to roll the dice in our position."