Mercedes’ Disastrous Performance at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix: A Shocking Sunday for the Team

You may not believe it, but we didn’t have to dig far into historical statistics to find an even worse weekend than the one experienced by Mercedes at this year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The team finished last year’s Singapore Grand Prix in ninth and fourteenth place, which is not such a distant history. After Saturday’s sprint, however, we knew that this would not be a successful Sunday for Mercedes. In the end, however, it was perhaps even worse than the biggest pessimists had predicted.

It didn’t matter what tires the drivers were wearing, how old the laps were, how much fuel they had in the tank, in short they were practically 71 laps slower than the midfield teams. In Brazil, Lewis Hamilton was also enjoyed by Pierre Gasly’s Alpine with an undersized drive unit. The seven-time champion’s pace was comparable to Jūki Cunoda on the AlphaTauri.

Due to problems with overheating of the car, the team eventually withdrew George Russell from the race. They let Lewis Hamilton circle to the end and finally took four points for eighth place.

“This was one inexcusable performance that cannot even be described in words,” said the head of Mercedes in a very quiet voice after the end of the race for Sky television This is Wolff. “This car finished in second place last week and the week before. Whatever we did to him, it was horrible.’

“I can only feel sorry for both drivers, of whom Lewis somehow survived, that they had to drive with such a wretched thing. It shows how tough this car is. It’s like driving on the edge of a knife and we have to develop something better for next year because it can’t happen that with a solid and fast car we can be on the podium one weekend and end up completely lost in eighth place after seven days.” he said visibly shaken Wolff.

We know that the sprint format has its pitfalls. If you don’t set up your car correctly on Friday, two and a half days of great misery will follow. According to the boss of the stable, this can be a partial explanation of the whole situation. “Obviously, we are not masters of sprint weekends. But that still doesn’t explain why it ended so horribly. It was almost like riding on three wheels instead of four.” said the native of Vienna.

Mercedes can talk about the luck that Ferrari was knocked out of the game by a breakdown. If Charles Leclerc had been allowed to race, there would certainly have been a significant reduction in Ferrari’s loss in the Constructors’ Cup, which rounded off to twenty points after Brazil.

Mercedes managed to win at least once last year. Sure, the team finished third overall a year ago and now have a solid grip on second place, but if you asked the Brackley boys if they’d rather take one win or finish second overall, they’d probably choose the former. The words Tota Wolffa they speak for themselves: “This car does not deserve to win. In the last two races we have to push the saw and get out of it. I think that’s the most important thing right now. We will see what else we can squeeze out of it, but there are no suitable words for today’s performance.”

“The speed on the straights was one problem, but it wasn’t the main factor. The main factor was our inability to get the pace we needed in the corners with the larger rear wing. We were killing the tires. We practically devoured them in a few rounds,” he declared Wolff.

Regarding George Russell’s resignation, he stated at the end of the interview: “At the end of the race, we exceeded all the cooling parameters of the drive unit. I don’t know why it happened, but it was the last race of this engine’s life cycle. Anyway, it is what it is; I’m not sure that would even be enough for him to win one point.’

2023-11-05 20:56:21
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