After tough first day, home favourite Antonelli appreciates the energy from the fans

12:00, 17 May

byKada Sarkozi

Mercedes can generally look back positively on the first day of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. George Russell and home favourite Kimi Antonelli reacted to the first two sessions of the weekend.

The British driver was once again close to the front during both 60-minute-long sessions, finishing in P4 twice.

"It feels great to be back driving at Imola. This track is one of my favourites and it is definitely one of those circuits that we all love coming to. It has a good mixture of low, medium, and high-speed corners, and it is quite narrow in places. There isn't a huge amount of run off either, so you need to be at your absolute best to extract a really good lap time."

Russell then continued: "The field was really tight today in both sessions, with a few unexpected teams performing really well. As expected, the McLarens were out front setting the benchmark today."

"It is likely that they will be the favourites to set the pace tomorrow in Qualifying; our aim is to hopefully get amongst them. We'll keep working hard tonight to identify areas that we can improve in. If we are able to do so, then we can hopefully reduce the gap to the very front and have an enjoyable Saturday."

Antonelli on first day driving at home Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli is from Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region, therefore, this is an extra special weekend for the Italian talent.

However, in terms of results, he set the 13th and only 18th fastest times in the two sessions respectively at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

"I struggled to put everything together on my single laps today. There were some mistakes on my side and the low grip conditions did not make it ideal to get the C6 compound performing. On the other side, I felt good on the long runs with the car providing a good overall balance. After these two sessions, I know what we need to work on and what I need to do to perform at my best in tomorrow's Qualifying and Sunday's race," he began after the day.

"It is obviously a really special race for me. During that first lap in FP1, it felt amazing to see all these fans in the grandstand and along the track. It gives so much energy, and when I put my visor down, I am ready to get the job done. Thank you to everyone who was trackside today cheering the team on; I'm looking forward to seeing that support over the rest of the weekend."

The weekend will continue with FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday. Follow the final practice session with GPblog's live blog!