Russell 'surprised' by Mercedes' Friday practice pace but dismisses talk of Austria pole bid

George Russell has dismissed his chances of fighting for pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver admitting it was "a surprise to us" to top the opening practice session.

The Briton heads to the Red Bull Ring this weekend having taken victory last time out in Canada, his first of the 2025 campaign having also claimed pole position.

Russell carried that form into the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, posting the fastest time in the first session on Friday, before setting the sixth best time in FP2.

"I mean first practice was definitely a surprise to us," said Russell.

"Second practice we definitely didn't have the pace like we did this morning. The quali runs and the race pace was a step worse so we need to analyse why that was.

"The tarmac here is pretty abrasive, it's normally a two-stop race. That doesn't really suit our strengths. As I said, this morning was a real surprise, this afternoon it's probably a bit more in line with our expectations but still fighting to get back on the podium. But the top-five range is realistically where we're at."

Despite being near the top of the times across Friday, Russell was frank in his assessment of fighting for pole position in Qualifying on Saturday, the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having topped FP2 by several tenths over the rest of the field.

"The McLarens were mighty strong, especially this afternoon," said Russell. "I don't really see that changing and that was the anticipation coming into the weekend unfortunately. We'll do our best but I don't think we'll be fighting for pole this weekend."

Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli enters the weekend off the back of his best result in F1, having claimed his maiden podium at the previous round in Montreal.

The teenage Italian finished 11th in both sessions on Friday and despite struggling for a clean flying lap, believes Mercedes' race pace remains strong.

"Definitely the long run was positive and we were pretty close, just towards the end we started to struggle a bit more compared to the McLaren but the first half of the stint was pretty strong," he said.

"Always very positive but we need to do a good Qualifying in order to start at the front and maybe we can put up a fight."