Brazil GP: Mercedes endure nightmare weekend with both drivers struggling

Mercedes won their only race last year at the Brazil GP. Not only did George Russell win it comfortably, it was a 1-2 finish. However, suspected setup changes caused them to drop like a stone during the Brazil GP weekend. Yuki Tsunoda overtook Lewis Hamilton during the sprint, and Pierre Gasly did the same in the main race. Toto Wolff had some scathing criticism for the W14 after the race.

Worrying Qualifying

The final sector of Interlagos is predominantly straight lines. During both qualifying sessions at the Brazil GP, Mercedes’ weakness in the final sector was clear. They would regularly be up by a tenth or two on the other cars in the first 2 sectors, and fall behind by the end of the lap.

Speed traps at the Brazil GP showed that Mercedes were extremely slow.

Disastrous Sprint

Mercedes started the Brazil GP Sprint extremely well. Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made up places at the start. However, within the first 5 laps, they lost those places as well.

It was clear that as soon as the chaser got DRS, Mercedes was toast. Martin Brundle likened it to driving with a parachute, such was their straight-line speed. And after 2/3rds of the sprint, the tyres started to fall off for both Mercedes cars.

Lewis Hamilton, a master at tyre management, couldn’t keep them alive at the Brazil GP. Tsunoda overtook him on track in an Alpha Tauri.

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A Worse Race

Mercedes feared the worst for the Brazil GP after their disastrous sprint. Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton again got good starts.

However, once again, as soon as the chasers got DRS, they were passed. Lewis Hamilton said on the radio that even when he had DRS, the car ahead was pulling away.

Meanwhile, after a poor race, George Russell had to retire the car due to overheating issues.

🚨AVERAGE RACE PACE IN BRAZIL RACE

⚠️Mercedes was the 7th team today, and Ferrari, the 5th

🥇Red Bull: 1:15.303
🥈McLaren: 1:15.384 (+0.081s)
🥉Aston Martin: 1:15.759 (+0.456s)
Alpine: 1:15.977 (+0.674s)
Ferrari: 1:15.996 (+0.693s)
AlphaTauri: 1:16.088 (+0.785s)
Mercedes:… pic.twitter.com/a0jPmBVQ5a

— Holiness (@F1BigData) November 5, 2023

Also Read: Brazil GP: Max Verstappen wins 17th race of season, Lando Norris 2nd

Toto Wolff’s Criticism

Toto Wolff didn’t mince his words at the Brazil GP. He said, “This car doesn’t deserve a win. We need to push for the last two races and recover. I think that’s the most important thing and see what we can do in Las Vegas – a totally different track – and Abu Dhabi. But the performance today was… I’m just lacking words.”