Russell warns ‘it could all be different tomorrow’ as he evaluates Mercedes' battle with McLaren and Red Bull in Zandvoort

George Russell kicked off his Dutch Grand Prix weekend on the front foot, topping the timesheets in FP2 with his team mate Lewis Hamilton close behind him in third, but the duo were hesitant about setting any grand goals for the rest of the weekend.

As F1 heads into the first race after the summer break, Mercedes are keen to keep up the momentum that saw them claim six podiums in the previous six races and become a threat to the other top teams.

FP2: Russell leads Piastri and Hamilton in tight second practice at Zandvoort

They demonstrated flashes of this strong form in Friday’s two practice sessions, with Hamilton setting the third-fastest time in both while Russell improved from fifth to first over the course of the day.

With home hero Max Verstappen struggling for pace, the Mercedes drivers were McLaren’s nearest rivals, even with the added challenge of high wind speeds.

Post-FP2 pace-setter Russell explained that the conditions were “really difficult” across the sessions, leading him and his team mate to believe that they can still extract further performance from the W15.

“It was so, so windy, probably the windiest I’ve remembered in the last couple of years,” he said. “The car was performing really well, got the upgrades on which seem to be working as expected.

WATCH: Ride onboard with Russell for the fastest lap of Friday in Zandvoort

“It looks like quite a close battle with the McLarens and Max, but it could all be different again tomorrow.

“In the first six races, the car was off the pace but the weather was consistent and they were pretty straightforward race weekends for everyone. Suddenly as soon as the car’s been quick in Canada and Silverstone, all sorts have been thrown at us, but it’s the same for everyone.”

Reviewing his performance, Hamilton admitted that compared to last season – when he qualified in P13 at Zandvoort after showing promise in practice – he felt significantly more confident today.

“It wasn’t a bad start to the weekend,” he said. “It’s a big, big difference compared to last year so the car’s definitely feeling more alive and we’re right up there at the front.

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“We understand the car so much better now, so to start off on the right foot from the get-go and just making small tweaks from there is definitely very helpful. It makes our job more enjoyable.

“I think there’s still performance left, but I’ve just got to work a little bit on the set-up. I don’t know if I looked particularly that quick, but again I think the set-up that I had for qualifying or for a single lap was hindering the long run.

“I don’t know whether or not [we could be in the mix] for the win but we’re definitely at least in the top five.”

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