Mercedes Antonelli started his weekend perfectly, by topping the timing sheets in FP1. His team mate ran him close though, Russell winding up just 0.040s back in the opening session. The Italian was fastest in the second session too, making him the man to catch tomorrow as Antonelli enjoyed a nigh on perfect opening day. As for Russell, he found the going harder in FP2, a scruffy flying lap on the softs only good enough for sixth. Kimi Antonelli - FP1: 1:07.796, P1; FP2: 1:07.014, P1 "It's been a clean and productive day for us. From FP1 onwards, I've felt comfortable in the car, which gave us a good platform to work from as we built through the sessions. "The hot conditions will continue to make things quite challenging, particularly in terms of tyre management. Keeping the tyres in the right working window without overheating is important, so that's an area we'll continue to focus on. "We've gathered a lot of useful information, but there's still work to do and the picture will likely evolve overnight. We'll analyse everything in detail and focus on making the right improvements ahead of Qualifying." George Russell - FP1: 1:07.836, P2; FP2: 1:07.637, P6 "It's been a solid day overall and a good place to start the weekend. The car felt competitive from the outset, and we've got a solid base to work from, but with the margins so tight, it's clear a few teams are going to be in the fight. "From my side, there are still a few areas to improve. It's clear there's performance to unlock and those are the kind of steps we can focus on overnight. The long-run pace looked strong in the conditions we've seen today, which is encouraging. Tyre management is going to be important this weekend,