George Russell was buoyed by the apparent progress made by the Mercedes team after reporting no porpoising on the straights during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. The reigning Constructors' World Champions have been one of the victims of the main aerodynamic issue facing the teams in 2022. The W13 has often been seen bouncing at high speeds on the straights of many circuits. With the team hoping to unlock more potential from their car with a raft of updates this weekend, they ended second practice with Russell in second place and Lewis Hamilton in third. Speaking after FP2, Russell explained that whilst their obvious porpoising on the straights had gone, he felt the problem could still be affecting them in the corners. "The car is definitely reacting differently; we've got different limitations this time," Russell told media. "We definitely don't have the porpoising on the straights, which is good, but we're still experiencing a bit here and there in the corners and, ultimately, you need to dial [it] out through the corners."
Russell: Red Bull and Ferrari have more to give
Russell was quick to caution that whilst a strong performance in second practice could be a good omen, it may not be an indicator for the rest of the weekend. At the previous round, the Briton topped second practice ahead of the Miami Grand Prix before dropping back in qualifying to start the race from P12. Russell is still confident of staying relatively close to the front-runners, but believes both Ferrari and Red Bull have more performance to come. "I think Red Bull still look very strong, when you're looking at teams to be reckoned with at the moment, and we need to go through the data," added Russell. "I see no reason why we can't be as far away from the front as we have shown [today], if not a little bit closer. I think Ferrari and Red Bull were in their lowest power modes, so they've got a bit on us there. "I think it's about finding that balance between what we want to set up the car for - qualifying or for the race - and the compromises we want to make, but I think we're in a good spot."
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