Mercedes admitted it made a major mistake at the Formula 1 Japanese GP, even after securing victory in Suzuka. Team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged that wrong decisions compromised performance, especially for George Russell.
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Despite securing a front-row lockout on the grid for the third consecutive race, with Kimi Antonelli on pole and Russell alongside him, the team faced difficulties right after the start. The poor start caused both drivers to lose positions on the first lap.
Russell dropped to fourth position, while Antonelli fell back to sixth. The Italian managed to regain the lead after a stop under the Safety Car, but Russell was hindered by having made his pit stop just before the neutralization.
Wolff pointed out that the problems began even before the race, with decisions made after FP3. According to the executive, the changes made to the car’s setup negatively affected Russell’s performance: “I think the race went against him starting with the setup decisions after the qualifying session. With the setup decision, we put the car in a situation that, from FP3 to qualifying, became much worse,” he stated.
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The Mercedes boss also acknowledged that the team did not provide the best conditions for the start, although he highlighted that there were driver errors at that moment. Still, the Austrian took part of the responsibility for the below-expected performance: “At the start, we certainly didn’t give the two drivers the best tools, but there were also mistakes from them. We had to make the Safety Car call because we were risking the position to Charles Leclerc,” he added.
According to Wolff, the sequence of setbacks continued for Russell throughout the race. The British driver also suffered from a software problem that further compromised his performance: “In addition, we had a software failure that gave him a ‘superclip’ and he was overtaken by (Charles) Leclerc. So, literally, everything went wrong for him,” concluded Wolff, summarizing the Briton’s complicated race in Suzuka.
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