Kimi Antonelli praises "progress" at the United States GP as Mercedes continues to make strides with upgrades.

However, when everything aligns, there is performance to be gained, as Antonelli was merely 0.042s behind Ferrari's FP2 leader Charles Leclerc on Friday.

"I felt better in the car compared to FP1," Antonelli remarked. "There’s still a lot of progress to be made, but it was a positive step forward, and now we will aim to enhance our performance even more. Having both cars on the same package is beneficial because we can experiment with various setups and gain a clearer understanding of this package.

"Since Singapore, we've been able to analyze the data and grasp more about what this package requires. We’re still exploring how to get the car into the right performance window, but we’ve been making strides and will see what else we can do to improve."

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Initial assessments from the long runs indicated that all four leading teams are relatively evenly matched, with perhaps Red Bull and Ferrari having a slight edge over Mercedes and McLaren, setting the stage for an exciting weekend in Texas.

Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin noted: "We didn’t have a strong first session. We aimed to explore a broader setup window with the upgrade package on both cars, but we encountered issues with locking, which significantly hindered both our single-lap performance and long runs.

"We adjusted the cars heading into the afternoon session, and that seems to have put us in a more favorable position. We experienced fewer balance problems, the car was more predictable, and our lap times improved as a result."

Russell only managed to secure fifth place, seven-tenths behind Leclerc, after failing to complete a proper lap – his first attempt on soft tires was aborted for exceeding track limits, and his second was compromised by a significant loss of control through the fastest section of COTA's Esses.

The narrative of Saturday's qualifying will not solely focus on ultimate car performance but also on managing Pirelli's soft tires through the challenging final sector, as numerous drivers experienced lock-ups or went off track as the rear tires began to wear during qualifying simulations.

"I believe it’s all about maintaining the rear tires in good condition through that twisty section to ensure you have the performance needed in the last corner," explained deputy team principal Bradley Lord.

Bradley Lord, Deputy Team Principal, Mercedes AMG F1 Team

"It's about getting the setup right and allowing the car to rotate without overusing the rear tires or overexerting the throttle, and if we can achieve that, we should be in a strong position."

Austin presents what could be Antonelli's first chance to clinch his inaugural world championship. However, this would require the Italian to win while Russell finishes ninth or lower, and Lewis Hamilton must finish fifth or lower – a scenario that Mercedes is not overly focused on.

"Ultimately, for Kimi to win this weekend would indicate a very poor race for the team, as the calculations indicate George needs to be ninth or lower, which isn’t the approach we want to take in racing, nor the outcome we are striving for," Lord emphasized.

"Thus, it’s a very slim chance; while it is theoretically possible, practically speaking, this is not the decisive weekend. We will simply aim to secure as many points as we can and see when the calculations start to align in our favor."