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'I was struggling' – Russell insists he needs to 'step up my game' after tricky Friday in Baku

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate George Russell has admitted that he needs to 'step up my game' after a difficult Friday of practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Russell finished the day down in 12th place, more than a second off the pace of championship leader Max Verstappen.

The Briton said that he was struggling with the handling of his car, particularly in the high-speed sections of the Baku City Circuit.

"I was struggling with the car balance today," said Russell. "We made some changes overnight and it didn't really improve things. We still have some work to do to get the car in the right window."

Russell said that he was particularly disappointed with his performance in the second practice session, in which he finished down in 15th place.

"The second session was a bit of a disaster," said Russell. "I just couldn't get the car to do what I wanted it to do. We need to have a good look at the data and see what we can do to improve things for tomorrow."

Despite his difficult day, Russell said that he remained confident of a good result in the race.

"I know that we have a good car and we've shown that we can be competitive," said Russell. "I just need to step up my game and get the most out of the car."

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, 12 June.

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