Mercedes had a disappointing weekend in Austin. Despite a promising Friday, where George Russell nearly secured a sprint pole with his car, the rest of the weekend brought little joy. After an unimpressive sprint race, Russell wrecked his upgraded W15 in the qualifiers. Teammate Lewis Hamilton didn’t fare much better; an awkward spin ended his Grand Prix prematurely. Team boss Toto Wolff laments a significant slump in form.
“It’s not good at all,” the Mercedes chief said after the race to the German branch of Sky Sports. “Before the summer break, we were the fastest team, but since then, we’ve lost our way a bit. It’s the exact opposite at Ferrari.” The Italians didn’t introduce any major upgrades during the United States GP, but they did achieve a one-two finish on Sunday. “This is truly one of the worst weekends ever for me,” said Wolff. “A sporting low point.”
“George Russell managed to limit the damage by crossing the finish line in sixth place. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, visibly struggled with the new upgrades on his car and spun out of the race early on. “I don’t think the upgrades have fundamental problems,” Wolff explained later. “It’s more about the interaction between the aerodynamic and mechanical parts. That’s why we’re going to continue developing this update.”
Anticipating New Parts
Due to Russell’s crash, Mercedes is now facing a shortage of parts. All signs point to the team having to run with two different specifications again during the upcoming race in Mexico. “It’s clear that we’re going to miss a floor,” Wolff explained. “It has to go back to the UK and will be repaired for Brazil. Logically, Lewis (Hamilton) would continue to run with the new parts, but I’m not sure he’s 100% behind that. We’ll have to discuss that.”
Hamilton spun off the track early on Sunday and ended his race in the gravel. An unusual mistake, he said afterwards. According to Toto Wolff, the incident was mainly due to the upgrades. “He wasn’t even pushing, so I don’t think this could have been a mistake by Lewis (Hamilton). We couldn’t make much of a difference in terms of pace anyway,” he concluded.
