Russell realises: 'Backlog to Max and the Ferraris is pretty big'.

George Russell hoped Mercedes would come out of the summer break on top, but the first two free practice sessions made it painfully clear where the team stands. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Briton says the team struggled, especially with the tyres.

Whereas the driver was able to finish fourth in the first free practice session, he was no further ahead than P8. Russell therefore had to conclude in front of the camera of the English medium that Mercedes is still a long way from being there.

"I think it's something that we have struggled with quite a lot this season to get the temperature into the tyres" he revealed just after the second practice session. "and we struggled a lot with that today. Getting temperatures into every compound we used."

Russell is hoping for improvements soon so he can be closer to the competition over the course of the weekend. "It's definitely something we need to work on and if we get that there is performance. The gap to Max and the Ferraris is quite extravagant. We are sued to having bad Fridays so let's see if we can turn it around."

His teammate Hamilton got away well in practice. At full speed, he was in danger of losing control of the car but was spared a major crash. Mercedes can therefore look forward to Saturday with a relieving feeling.