George Russell completed an encouraging practice program for the Belgian Grand Prix – the seventh round of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The 22-year-old Briton started the weekend by registering the 17th-fastest lap in the opening 90-minute session, turning a 1:46.570s tour around the 7.004km-long venue on the Hard compound tyre.

In the afternoon, George refined this run by 1.107s and added 25 laps onto his 21 from the morning, navigating an overcast practice window to record 16th.

This 1:45.463s run split both Scuderia Ferrari drivers, with George trailing 2019 Belgium race winner Charles Leclerc by only 0.023s and winding up 0.220s ahead of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

Over a total window of three hours of on-track running, George and his Williams Racing team tested several downforce configurations to find the perfect balance in car set-up, refining the FW43 in preparation for the remainder of the weekend.

George Russell – Williams Racing Driver

“It is always great to drive around Spa. We tried some different set-ups to try and get a bit more straight-line speed. Some were more beneficial than others, but I think we have a good understanding to gather the data and make the most of it tomorrow. It is going to be a tricky Saturday, Q2 is still the target and beating the Haas and the Alfa. We would like to see some rain to mix things up which would give us a chance to get a good result if we can maximise it. Nevertheless, we have got to make the most of whatever the conditions throw at us, and I will be ready to do that.”

George will advance his understanding of Formula 1’s longest venue on Saturday morning in FP3 before contesting qualifying in preparation for Sunday’s race.