In Formula 1, the truth of the day is not necessarily that of the next day… and Mercedes has known this only too well for several years. In Qatar as in Las Vegas, the Silver Arrows seemed well on their way to achieving new success, or at least a podium. Unfortunately, on Sunday evening, the German team left Losail empty-handed, after missing a great chance of victory.
Starting from pole position, after having benefited from the one place penalty on the grid imposed on Max Verstappen, George Russell quickly lost the advantage of his starting position, from the first corner, against his Dutch rival and against Lando Norris. The start of the problems: unable to follow the furious pace of the leading duo, the Briton tried an undercut strategy… without success. In difficulty with his hard tires, stuck behind Fernando Alonso for several laps, George Russell lost all hope of victory – but also of a podium – when the Safety Car appeared mid-race to allow the marshals to clean up the debris present on the road. the start-finish straight line.
The Mercedes W15 suddenly suffers from understeer
Finally 4th at the finish, the English driver missed out on a second consecutive victory which seemed possible the day before, during the Sprint where he finished 3rd behind the two McLarens. “It wasn't a good day at work. recognizes Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal. We lost all the balance of the car between [samedi] et [dimanche]we had terrible understeer with both cars and we had no pace left, which was weird to understand. The race was bad, I think the car was very difficult to drive for both drivers. It wouldn't turn: the understeer was unbearable and they both suffered from it. »
“I think if the race had gone ahead [samedi]it was winnable, but in terms of pure pace, I think we would have been behind Lando [Norris] and behind Max [Verstappen]so we would have gotten a solid podium, but obviously too many things went wrong, underlines the German leader. Our race started to deteriorate after about fifteen laps, when we realized that the car was not balancing, that understeer was setting in and that we were starting to lose ground compared to the drivers in front of us and in Piastri who followed us. We thought that switching to the hard tires and adjusting the front wing would put us in a more comfortable situation, which was not the case at all. »
Wolff understands Hamilton's desolation
On Sunday, only one Mercedes really fought at the front, since that of Lewis Hamilton was never in the running during the Qatar Grand Prix. The seven-time British world champion did everything wrong at Losail: a false start, a puncture, speeding in the pits, several mishaps which relegated him to the back of the pack. Frustrated by his ordeal, Lewis Hamilton even thought about giving up voluntarily, before resolving to finish the race in 12th place.
“We had reached a point where it almost didn't make sense to continue. But if you give up, you carry [la pénalité] in Abu Dhabi, that's why we had to take it, explain Toto Wolff. I think one of the strong points [d’Hamilton] is the way it is able to stop late and attack the corner but the car can't handle it… it's clear that when you are very strong on braking you need a car that is very good in corners and as soon as you step on the accelerator you need a lot of traction. When the car doesn't give you any of that, it's very hard to live with it. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he expresses his emotions and it's completely allowed, it's correct. »
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will hope to end their 12-season long collaboration on a positive note on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, as the Briton prepares to close the most glorious chapter of his career with the German team, before joining Ferrari in 2025 .
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