Mercedes 'got it wrong' in strategy for Hamilton and Russell

Mercedes may have wasted his best (and last) chance at victory this season. The Silver Arrows, in an almost ideal position on the grid with the 2nd and 3rd positions at the start, missed the mark against the Red Bull de Max Verstappen. Initially at the start, since starting on medium tires, the W13s did not manage to get the better of the Dutchman on the first lap. In the strategy, secondly, with a much too conservative choice in the selection of tires. Despite lower wear than expected, the German team decided not to take the risk of using soft tyres, preferring to play it safe with hard tyres. A failed strategy when at the same time, Daniel Ricciardo rose like an arrow with its set of soft tires at the end of the race.

“We hadn’t really planned the soft-medium strategy before the race”

Hopes were so high that disappointment is present at Mercedes, despite a podium for Lewis Hamilton and a 4th place for George Russell. Toto wolff recognized the strategic error on the part of his team. “Lewis and George did an incredible job today. We discussed whether the soft-hard strategy was viable, but we hadn't really planned the soft-medium strategy before the race. So, in hindsight, we were wrong today, but we still showed a good performance and got valuable points”, declared the Austrian director.

If Mercedes missed the mark in Mexico, there are quite a few reasons for satisfaction at the end of the Mexican event. For the first time on a regular basis, Lewis Hamilton was able to keep pace with Max Verstappen at the start of the race. Snuggled less than two seconds behind the Dutchman until the first pit stops, the Briton was perhaps even closer to victory than in Austin last week. Without the poor strategic choice of his team, the seven-time world champion could have claimed victory.

Mercedes awaits confirmation in Brazil

“Being so close to Red Bull makes me very proud of my team and I am very grateful to them, confided Lewis Hamilton after the Mexico Grand Prix. The pace of the race was generally pretty good, but we were on a staggered strategy on the tires for most of the race. Maybe we should have started with the softs but we went with the mediums and then took the hards to make the one stop strategy work. It seemed pretty good on the first stint, but then the Red Bull was just too fast for us. »

There are only two races left for Mercedes to avoid ending the season without a victory. In Mexico, the W13 was well helped by the environment of the circuit and the high altitude of the route, which erased the defects of the car. Toto Wolff awaits confirmation in Sao Paulo before thinking about victory. “Our performance gap compared to Red Bull was small today, and we had a good margin compared to Ferrari – however, we must be careful not to jump to conclusions on the latter and wait to see what happens in Brazil. Our goals are always to win a race and fight for second place in the constructors' championship. It would be fantastic if we could make it there for one of the last two races of the year. »

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