Mercedes driver George Russell has heaped praise on former team Williams following its strong performance during Friday practice for the Dutch Grand Prix. Alex Albon ended both practice outings on F1's return from the summer break within the top five - highlighted by third in FP2. Russell, meanwhile, failed to register inside the top 10 during either session, though he was faced with excessive traffic on his best attempt in each. “It’s good to be back,” said the Briton. “And coming to Zandvoort is always a lot of fun. The track really enjoyable to drive, max downforce, really fast and undulated. “So from that side of things, it was fun. I think it was a promising day, it was probably a day of two halves. “We were looking really strong on the harder compounds. On the Hard and the Medium I was looking... probably in the top four. “The Soft didn't quite go to plan but the race pace looked strong. “[There were] a few surprises out there - Williams is looking really strong, I think. They were running their qualifying mode based on the data we've seen. “So they've got even more to come. So interested to see how they've achieved that.”
Russell pleased with Mercedes' Friday running
Heading into the second half of the season, Mercedes is looking to hold onto second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Russell has scored just a single podium result in the opening 12 rounds and on his expectations for the weekend ahead, he conceded: “I don’t really know what the expectations are because it is so close, a lot can happen. “There’s definitely a few unknowns but I think if we… last year we qualified P6 and we were fighting for the victory. “So we need to make sure we seal a good result, ideally in the top five. “That will set it up really nicely for Sunday because we know we've got a faster race car.”
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