#F1 - 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Saturday "Work to do on race day in Baku" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 14 September 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Saturday

 
Work to do on race day in Baku

• George Russell will line up P5 with Lewis Hamilton P7 for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
• George topped the times in FP3, albeit by setting his best lap at the end of the session when the track was at its best.
• Heading into Qualifying, the team knew that it would likely need to find more pace to be in the fight for pole.
• Both drivers navigated their way through to Q3, and initially sat P4 and P7 after their first efforts.
• Opting to run first on track for their final laps, both were forced into a slower out lap as the stationery Williams of Alex Albon sat at pit exit.
• Albon got going before both drivers started their lap, but both sacrificed a little tyre temperature by easing up in the final sector.
• Both George and Lewis did ultimately improve on their final efforts but could only manage P5 and P7 on the grid for tomorrow's race.

Driver	FP3	Q1		Q2		Q3
George Russell	P1	8 Laps 1:43.139	P9 Medium, Soft	6 Laps 1:42.329	P4 Soft, Soft	6 Laps 1:41.874	P5 Soft, Soft
Lewis Hamilton	P10	10 Laps 1:43.089	P5 Medium, Soft	6 Laps 1:42.765	P9 Soft, Soft	6 Laps 1:42.289	P7 Soft, Soft

George Russell
I was pretty happy with my laps in Qualifying. They all felt strong but unfortunately, we didn't quite have the pace to fight for pole position. We topped the times in FP3, but we knew that this flattered us a little bit, having run right at the very end of the session. We thought we would be in a battle just outside of the top three. It is therefore a little frustrating to be half-a-tenth from P3 but P5 isn't a bad place to start from.
 
Ferrari are typically quick at street circuits and that proved to be the case once again today. I don't think we will be able to race them for victory tomorrow but hopefully we are in the battle for the podium.
 
Lewis Hamilton
Qualifying was disappointing as we had a good day yesterday and I thought we could be in the fight for the front two rows. Unfortunately, I was struggling to get the tyres working and that is what it is all about. We will analyse why that was as a team and hopefully make improvements moving forward.
 
The aim is to move forward tomorrow, and I am staying positive that we can do so. It is not always easy to progress here, but we have a slightly different tyre strategy to others which may help us. We will also have to look after the tyres as it is easy to suffer with the rears. If we can do so, then hopefully we can have a better day than we had today.
 
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO
Qualifying proved frustrating today. Ferrari have looked strong all weekend, so we knew that it was unlikely we would be fighting for pole position. We worked hard to make improvements overnight and, although we were flattered by FP3, looked to be able to battle for the second row. After our first runs in Q3 that seemed possible. Unfortunately, on our second efforts we had a slightly compromised out lap and missed out on P3 by just half-a-tenth of a second.
 
George was happier throughout the session and ended up P5. Lewis struggled with tyre temperature and finished P7. It leaves us with work to do tomorrow but it is a long race, and our aim is to move forward. We haven't got a clear idea of where we are compared to our competitors on the long run so we will see what we can do tomorrow.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
We made some overnight changes with the aim of getting the car into a better place, not only for qualifying today but tomorrow's race too. The outcome this weekend will ultimately be dictated by long run pace, so it was important that we continued to work on protecting the rear tyres for Sunday.
 
After a disrupted Friday, George was happier with the overall balance in FP3, but Lewis felt less comfortable than he did the day before. Whilst George topped the times in that session, we knew we were unlikely to be challenging for pole position. After making it through the first two segments of qualifying, we looked like we may challenge for the second row. Unfortunately, the out laps on our second run were slower than we would have liked and that cost us some crucial tyre temperature on those final efforts. That may have cost George a couple of places and we found ourselves in the middle of a tight bunch, rather than at the front.
 
Without much long run data from Friday, everyone's relative pace is slightly unknown. We hope the changes we've made to the car since then will help us tomorrow and we can fight for the podium

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Friday

#F1 - 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Sunday "Podium after dramatic day in Baku" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 15 September 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Sunday

 
Podium after dramatic day in Baku

• George Russell finished third and Lewis Hamilton ninth in today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
• George started from P5 on the Medium tyre but suffered with rear tyre temperatures throughout his first stint.
• It was a similar story for Lewis who, having taken a new power unit ahead of the race, started from the pit lane on the yellow-walled compound.
• Both ditched the Medium tyre at the end of lap 13, swapping to the Hard compound tyre and went to the end of the race.
• A gentle introduction in the opening laps paid dividends in the closing stages with George amongst the fastest runners and closing on the top-four.
• As that group concertinaed together, contact between Sainz and Perez ended with both in the wall and promoted George to P3.
• Lewis worked hard to battle his way through the pack, but his progress came to a halt when he reached the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
• However, a puncture for the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg plus the Sainz/Perez incident elevated him to P9 and two hard-earned points at the flag.
• We now head to Singapore where the team will celebrate PETRONAS' 50th anniversary at what has become something of a home race for our Title and Technical Partner.

Driver	Grid	Result	Fastest Lap
George Russell	P5	P3	1:46.628
Lewis Hamilton	PIT	P9	1:47.236

Strategy	Start	Stop 1
No.63	Medium	Hard (L12)
No.44	Medium	Hard (L12)

George Russell
It was a really strange race today. It was very difficult on the Medium tyre in my first stint. I was over one second off the ultimate pace and finding it hard to control the rear tyre surface temperatures. On the Hard tyre in my second stint, the car felt brilliant. In the final 20 laps, I was lapping one second quicker than those at the very front. It is hard to work out exactly why this was and is a little frustrating.
 
We were fortunate to get onto the podium and I am glad that both Carlos (Sainz) and Checo (Perez) are OK. We were having a relatively quiet run to P5 after I got past Verstappen, but we will take it. It is a good reward for all the efforts of the team after a challenging weekend on the whole.
 
Lewis Hamilton
Today was a difficult race. We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made some changes heading into Saturday that didn't work out, but we had to live with them. We also knew it would be challenging to overtake today. Despite the long straight, it is hard to follow through the second sector. Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who I was racing for a lot of the afternoon, did such a great job. It is great to see the youngsters like them coming through and doing so well. For their first and second races, it was very impressive.
 
Despite how tough my own race was, the positives are that George had a decent race and was able to score some good points for the team. We've also got lots of data to work through ahead of Singapore. We've got some upgrades coming before the end of the year so hopefully we can make a step closer to those at the front soon.
 
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO
We will take the positive from today that we were able to get one car on the podium. We saw that it was getting feisty at the front and that ultimately ended with Sainz and Perez in the wall. Inheriting a podium and finishing third is better than we expected but we are not fooling ourselves that, on pace today, we were P5.
 
We will analyse the race and weekend as a whole. The second half of our Grand Prix on the Hard tyre was encouraging. George was able to keep the temperatures under control and, having driven within himself early in the stint, was able to deliver strong pace in the closing stages. It was more difficult for Lewis with the traffic he faced but at moments, he showed good speed. We now head to Singapore, and it is another difficult circuit to know how everyone will perform. We will dig through the data from this weekend, aim to improve the car balance and have a stronger weekend there.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
It was nice to get a car on the podium, but we aren't fooling ourselves; this weekend hasn't been good enough and we need to improve. The first stint for both drivers was weak. We couldn't stop the rear tyres from overheating, and, at one point, it was looking like we were in for a very difficult afternoon.
 
The Hard tyre suited us much better. George had clean air to work out how to get the best out of the tyres and maintain them in a good window. That served him well later in the race. We'd lost too much time early on in the race to stick with the leaders, but it was good to get the pass on Verstappen done and that proved crucial for the podium.
 
Lewis' race was difficult as he kept bumping into DRS trains and just couldn't make it through them. The closer he got to the cars ahead the more tyre overheating he suffered with. Regardless, we were not strong enough here to get a podium on merit and that's what we need to put our efforts into resolving. We've got a different challenge in Singapore next week but are looking forward to getting back on track.

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Courtesy @itcracing

Race Highlights | 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

#F1 #ItalianGP - Was Antonelli Too Fast For His Own Good? - F1 Italian GP Friday News and Analysis: Autosport

30 August 2024

Jon Noble and Alex Kalinauckas discuss Kimi Antonelli's rapid but short-lived Formula 1 debut, as well as analysis on the long-run pace of Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren from Free Practice 1 and 2 at the 2024 Italian GP.

#F1 #ItalianGP #lewishamilton44 #lewishamilton #georgelewis #MonzaGP #mercedesamgf1

30 August 2024

F1: Session Report

2024 Italian Grand Prix - Friday

Eventful first day on track in Monza.

The team took to the resurfaced Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the opening day of on-track running ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli made his race weekend F1 debut in FP1 at Monza, taking the place of George Russell.

Unfortunately, his session came to an early end as he suffered a sizeable accident into Parabolica.

Lewis completed his work on the Soft compound tyre, finishing the session in P7.

George returned to the car for FP2, getting out onto circuit 20 minutes into the session after the mechanics had repaired the W15.

He completed work on both the Medium and Soft compounds, although a mid-session red flag limited his running to 20 laps.

Lewis also ran on both the yellow and red-walled tyres, using the Soft tyre to post the fastest lap time of the day.

The team has plenty of data to run through this evening ahead of returning to the circuit tomorrow for FP3.

Driver

FP1

FP2

Lewis Hamilton

24 Laps

1:22.214

P7

Soft, Soft

24 Laps

1:20.738

P1

Medium, Soft, Medum

George Russell

20 Laps

1:21.086

P6

Medium, Soft

Kimi Antonelli

5 Laps

1:23.955

P20

Soft

Lewis Hamilton

I'm happy that Kimi was OK as that was a big accident. The main thing that matters is that he was OK. In terms of our car performance, it's been a good day. This new tarmac and the smoother kerbs have presented an interesting challenge, but the car has felt good from the start. There seemed to be some graining up and down the field in FP1 and people struggling with the tyres. We made some solid changes ahead of FP2 and the car took a step forward in that final hour. There's still some work for us to do overnight both here and at the factory, particularly around the long run, so we can be as competitive as possible over the rest of the weekend.

George Russell

Firstly, I'm glad to see that Kimi was OK. It's never nice to see a crash that size and the first thing that matters is that he wasn't hurt. The mechanics did a great job to get the car ready for FP2. We got a good 30 minutes of running before and after the red flag so a big thank you to them.

The car seems to be looking good. Lewis did a great job to top the timing screens. I had a couple of push lap efforts at the end of FP2 but was mainly focused on the long run. The resurfaced track meant that it looked to be ramping up quite a lot throughout the day. We need to be alive to it evolving over the rest of the weekend. We've got a lot of good data to go through, even though it wasn't the most productive Friday I've ever had on my side.

Kimi Antonelli

It's been quite a day here in Monza. Unfortunately, my first FP1 session ended quite quickly with a big crash. It was measured at 52G, so it was a heavy one. I am not feeling 100% so I will have an easy night this evening and rest ahead of the rest of the weekend. I am sorry to the team and to George as it is not how we wanted the hour to go. It was a pure mistake from my side where I was pushing just a bit too hard for the conditions. I should have built into the speed more progressively and it is something I will learn from.

I am still thankful to the team for making it possible for me to drive in FP1. It was great to drive in front of the tifosi and be on track with all the other drivers.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We've had a busy day here in Monza. Kimi's accident luckily didn't do any damage to him, but the car took a big hit. Repairing it ate into George's session a little bit. That cost us some learning but we'll hopefully recover that ground in FP3 tomorrow.

Lewis had two strong sessions. The car seems to be working well, but there is not much to choose between the top few teams; it all looks very tight and from today's data there doesn't seem to be more than a couple of tenths separating the front of the field. For the race, managing the tyres looks like it is going to be a challenge. The new surface is causing quite high degradation and as soon as you push hard, the tyres start to drop. It is not an easy track to employ the necessary management without leaving yourself vulnerable to being overtaking, but it should lead to an interesting race.

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#F1 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Friday "Frantic Friday in Baku" - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 13 September 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Friday

 
Frantic Friday in Baku

• The team took to the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan for the first day of this weekend's on-track running.
• Both drivers ran the Medium and Soft compound tyres in a thrice red flagged FP1 session.
• Lewis was happier with the overall car balance, clocking the second quickest time with George in P8.
• Ahead of FP2, the team made a precautionary power unit change on George's car after an irregular oil sample; that delayed the start of George's session by 25 minutes.
• He nevertheless still managed to complete running on both the Hard and Soft tyres in that second session, posting the ninth quickest time.
• Lewis was able to complete an extra six laps in FP2, on the same compounds as his team-mate, and set the third quickest time, just 0.066s shy of the pace-setting lap set by Charles Leclerc.

Driver	FP1				FP2
Lewis Hamilton	19 Laps	1:45.859	P2	Medium, Soft	22 Laps	1:43.550	P3	Hard, Soft, Hard
George Russell	18 Laps	1:46.516	P8	Medium, Soft	16 Laps	1:44.536	P9	Hard, Soft

Lewis Hamilton
Today was a really good day. I enjoyed it from the start as the car felt strong from the first laps on track. We made some positive incremental steps on the set-up. There was nothing we had to come back on, and we continued to build throughout.
 
Pace wise, we didn't complete a huge number of laps on our long run in FP2. We will have to do some comparisons tonight therefore to see where our relative speed is. Our usual competitors looked strong, but I think we are there or thereabouts. That is encouraging and was our hope coming into this weekend. We will stay cautious and vigilant though. We will work hard tonight to try and find more gains and see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow.
 
George Russell
Today wasn't the smoothest Friday we've ever had. Unfortunately, we lost a little bit of running time with a precautionary power unit change ahead of FP2. Once we were out on track, I wasn't completely happy with the balance of the car. I was struggling to get the tyres in the right window and was lacking a little confidence. I'll work hard overnight to improve on that, step my game up for tomorrow and close the gap.
 
The good news is that Lewis was looking very quick out there. It encourages us that the car is strong, and we can be competitive this weekend. It looks very close between several teams, with Ferrari in particular looking strong. If we can make improvements overnight though we can aim to be in the mix for qualifying and the race on Sunday.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
Lewis had two decent sessions and finished the day happy with the car. His pace also looked sensible although we know the areas we've got to work on. Overall, we're pleased with how his weekend has started. As has been the case in recent races, it looks very tight at the front in terms of single lap, so we'll be working hard overnight to find every bit of lap time.
 
In comparison to Lewis, George had a more challenging day. He wasn't very happy with the balance of the car in FP1, so we spent that session trying to improve it. Shortly after FP1 finished, we spotted an issue with the power unit that led us to take the cautious approach of swapping it out for FP2. That unfortunately cost him 25 minutes of valuable track time and whilst we got to run both tyres, the programme was compromised. We'll be aiming to recover some of the lost ground with George tomorrow in FP3.

Sunday

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Friday

Posted by John Nichols

Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Kimi Antonelli. Sort by date Show all posts

#F1 #SingaporeGP - 2024 Singapore Grand Prix - Friday "Tricky Friday in the Lion City" Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information 20 September 2024

 
F1: Session Report
 
2024 Singapore Grand Prix - Friday

 
Tricky Friday in the Lion City

• The opening day of running at the Singapore Grand Prix provided plenty of intrigue.
• The team ran all three compounds across the two practice sessions, gathering plenty of data across both the single lap and long runs.
• In the late afternoon running of FP1, both drivers used the Hard and Soft compound tyres although neither was happy with the overall balance.
• In FP2, both got a brief look at the Soft tyre but the main focus of the hour was the long run on the Medium compound.
• Lewis and George completed most of their programme, albeit with George's session ending a few minutes early after losing his front-wing following minor contact with the wall at turn 8.
• The team will now analyse the data and learnings overnight before returning for FP3 tomorrow afternoon.
• Imagery of the day is available on our media site. All imagery is rights-free for editorial use.

Driver	FP1				FP2
George Russell	25 Laps	1:33.334	P16	Hard, Soft, Hard	25 Laps	1:31.488	P7	Medium, Soft, Medium
Lewis Hamilton	24 Laps	1:32.679	P12	Hard, Soft, Hard	24 Laps	1:31.709	P11	Medium, Soft, Medium

George Russell
That was quite a challenging Friday for us. We didn't have the pace of the frontrunners today and we need to work hard overnight to understand why. The car wasn't feeling as well connected as it did here last year, or in recent races. We need to get to the bottom of that if we are to have a weekend where we can challenge at the front. I am sure we will find some answers though once we go through all the data this evening.
 
There were a lot of surprises out there when you looked at the timing screens. Williams and VCARB seemed to be particularly quick compared to recent races, whilst the Red Bulls looked to be struggling a little. The McLarens and the Ferraris looked to have a comfortable advantage over everyone else meanwhile and we've clearly got work on our hands to be in with a chance of racing them this weekend.
 
Lewis Hamilton
It was a very challenging day for us. I didn't feel particularly connected with the car throughout. We tried many different things on the set-up to try and find improvements but couldn't find any major breakthrough. We were working hard as a team to make gains and get closer to the pace at the front, but we weren't able to do so by the end of FP2. It was challenging to know exactly where we should put the car in terms of set-up and that is something we will be working hard on overnight. We need to find some additional speed otherwise we will be looking at a difficult Saturday tomorrow.
 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
That was one of the trickier Friday's of the year so far. We experimented with different set-ups across the cars in FP1, aiming to try and counter some of the challenges we'd faced particularly on our Medium tyre stint last weekend in Baku. Unfortunately, the track conditions didn't give us a brilliant read on this, so we converged more closely for FP2. Neither driver was particularly happy with the balance throughout the session, although we made some progress on our long run.
 
Whilst that second hour of running was more encouraging, we've still got a good chunk of work to do overnight. McLaren and Ferrari, in particular Norris and Leclerc, looked to be a step ahead of the rest of the field. We will have to find some big improvements to be in the fight with them tomorrow. We've also got one eye on some of the teams behind us. We will need to find gains overnight if we are to have a smoother run through qualifying and that is what we are focused on doing.

Last weekend at BAKU

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