George Russell and Hamilton finished second and third fastest in second practice at Barcelona, with both drivers just two tenths adrift of Ferrari’s Charles L𝓡eclerc, who set the pace on Friday. 

It comes as Mercedes introduced t🎉heir first major upgrade of the season in Spain in a bid to resolve some of the problems that have so far plagued them this year. 

• Charles Leclerc outpaces𝓡 Mercedes in second practice 
• 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Formula 1 Spanish GP: F🐼ree Practice 2 results
• Lewi☂s Hamilton has 'no problem' with Merc strategy

“Positive,” Hamilton said after second practice. “Super happy with tꦺhe progress. 

“So a big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for not giving up. We’re not the quickest yet but I 😼think we🌠’re on our way. 

“It’s the first time we’ve driven down the straight without bouncing. We still have some bouncing, but it’s way b💖etter. So yeah, starting to eke into a bit of the potential in our car.

“It’s still tough ouไt there with the car but it’s mu💙ch nicer than it’s been before,” the seven-time world champion added. “Really grateful for those upgrades, now we need to fine tune them into the next session. 

“Overnight there’s lots of data to go over, try and position the car, and I think we can get it into an༒ even better place for tomorrow. So hopefully we can tackle the heels of the guys up ahead.” 

Russell was more skeptical than his teammat𓂃e given that Mercedes also looked competitive during Friday practice at the lastꦑ race in Miami, only to fall back in qualifying and the race. 

“I don’t know to be honest because in Miami we were quickest on Friday and here we’re second,”💜 Russell explained. “So let’s see. 

“The car is definitely reacting differently, we’ve got different limitations this time. We definitely don’t h🌃ave the porpoising in the straight, which is good, but we’re still experiencing a little bit here and there in the corners, which ultimately you need to dial it out through the corners.&🉐nbsp;

“I think Red Bull still look very, very strong - they look like🐽 the team to be reckoned with at the moment. We need to go through the datꦑa.”

Asked if he thinks Mercedes can translate its positive Friday pace into a strong showing in qualifying, Russell replied: “I see no reason why we can’t be as far away fro🌟m the front as we showed, if not a little bit closer. 

“But there’s differences with power modes and stuff, I think Ferrari and Red Bull were in their lowest power mode so they’ve got a bit on us there🍃. I don’t know, it’s tricky. 

“Degradation was massive for everybody and that’s going🧸 to be what makes or breaks this race on S🧸unday, so that’s going to be what we focus on tonight.”

‘Progress but no ecstasy’ for Mercedes at F1 Spanish GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff praised the hard work at the factory that has enabled Mercedes to bring signific🧔ant design changes to their car. The team have also introduced a new power unit on both cars for the Barcelona race. 

"Both companies have worked so hard,” 🐈Wolff said. “Brixworth has really gained land against the other power unit manufacturers, it’s ܫfantastic to see that and I’m really proud. 

“On the chassis side we are getting there. We have a second solid Friday like we have in🔯 Miami. Just we have to see when the grip keeps coming tomorrow whether we are able to keep that kind of performance, and at least be in the mix or solid in the top three.” 

Wolff echoed the commentsꦫ made by his drivers about improving the porpoising issue, though he stressed it has not been completely eradicated. 

"It’s better but still not that the drivers feel comfortable in the high speed,” he said. “Turn 3, Turn 9 we are losing a lot of ti💫me and we need to find out what we are going to do to🔴morrow. 

“Progress - but not ꦯexuberance and ecstasy!”