"Full beans, power and all the rest": George Russell on topping the timesheets for Mercedes in F1 Canadian GP FP2

George Russell attributed his pace-setting performance in Friday practice at the Canadian Grand Prix to the rest and recovery he enjoyed following the Spanish GP. Speaking to F1TV, the Briton expressed his delight at topping a practice session for the first time in ten races this season.

In the lead-up to the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Russell was fourth fastest in FP1 before going quickest in FP2. Until now, neither he nor Mercedes had led any session this year, with the team struggling to be a benchmark across the calendar. So far, McLaren has dominated most weekends, with Red Bull and occasionally Ferrari emerging as the closest challengers.

Reflecting on Friday’s performance, Russell described the day as a positive step. While he noted that the smooth track surface made it difficult to generate tire temperature, he felt it helped the car appear more competitive. He also highlighted the ongoing debate among teams over whether to run the soft C6 compound or stick with the mediums for qualifying, something he believes could make Saturday’s session particularly intriguing.

Speaking at the end of the Friday free practice sessions, George Russell said:

“It might be my first time top of the leaderboard the whole year! 10 races in… no, obviously we’ve had a very positive day. We had higher expectations coming into this weekend because of the cooler conditions. The track’s quite smooth so the tyres naturally run quite cold and we know our weakness, which is when it’s hot, we struggle and when it’s cold, the tyres run cold, we’re pretty competitive. That was definitely validation today. Nevertheless, we’ll try to maximise this weekend. I think my lap was really strong today, probably optimised. There was nothing more in the tank there.”

“We had it all on the table – full beans, power and all the rest so let’s see what tomorrow brings. You’ve got to be a little bit realistic. We’ll see tomorrow, it’ll be interesting. Clearly, a number of teams are thinking about this medium tyre as well so come Qualifying, do you go on the soft? Do you go on the medium? That’s one of the challenges so far when we’ve had this C6 compound.”

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George Russell was surprised that Max Verstappen took responsibility for the Spanish GP incident

George Russell was surprised to see Max Verstappen take responsibility for their clash at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver appreciated the Dutchman’s admission of fault and felt the penalty handed down was appropriate for causing the incident. He also mentioned a brief encounter with Verstappen at the airport, adding that their rapport remained unaffected by the on-track tension.

The four-time world champion accepted blame and issued an apology to Red Bull via an Instagram post. Despite the penalty, Verstappen now faces the threat of a race ban if he collects additional penalty points this weekend. George Russell felt the sanction was justified and noted that a race ban would be appropriate if a driver repeatedly made reckless moves that breached the regulations. As a GPDA director, he remarked that such incidents are part of racing and that the potential race ban is Verstappen’s concern, not his.

Speaking about the Dutchman’s act of taking responsibility for the incident, George Russell said:

“Obviously it would have been a different feeling had it taken me out of the race but ultimately I benefitted from it and he was penalised. I was a bit surprised to see he had taken responsibility, so fine. But I haven't spoken to him about it. We actually bumped into each other at the airport the other day but I actually completely forgot we crashed into each other a few days prior. No issues.”

Asked if Verstappen could miss a race in the future, George Russell said:

“I think that's how it should be in racing. At the end of the day if you take on risky moves and you get it wrong you get penalised and, if you get your points, you'll be banned for a race. I'm not going to sit here and say X, Y, Z because it's ultimately not really my problem. It's his problem. I'm looking forward to the weekend and then go from there. That's racing.”

Verstappen currently has 11 penalty points on his super licence over the past 12 months, just one short of triggering a race ban, which could come as early as the Austrian Grand Prix. The Dutchman sits third in the Drivers’ Championship, but his result in Spain further widened the gap between him and the leading McLaren duo.

George Russell is now fourth in the standings, trailing the four-time world champion by just 26 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull has slipped to fourth, while Mercedes has moved up to third. The Brackley-based team now has 159 points, compared to the 144 points held by the Milton Keynes outfit.