George Russell ended the second free practice session at Monza on top of the timesheets, yet the Mercedes driver maintains that Ferrari are still the team to beat for the Italian Grand Prix.
Russell's fastest lap in FP2 was only marginally quicker than Charles Leclerc, coming just hours after Ferrari had dominated the opening session. Even before the race weekend began, Russell had labelled Ferrari as the favourites, especially with the Scuderia debuting an engine upgrade on home soil.
First-Day Assessment: Russell's View Unchanged
After evaluating the opening day of track action, Russell insists his stance hasn't shifted. He believes Ferrari looked extremely competitive and remain the benchmark for everyone else.
Russell also cautioned that McLaren have been strong recently and will certainly be in the mix, while Red Bull can never be counted out of the fight for the front row.
Mercedes Strategy and Reduced Pressure
Good news for Russell: he is unlikely to face significant pressure from team-mate and title rival Kimi Antonelli, who has a grid penalty for taking a new power unit. That gives Russell more freedom to attack for pole position.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin revealed the team experimented with car setups throughout the day. The final call on wing levels, often a crucial factor at Monza, will be made after analysing data overnight.
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