The two Mercedes cars finished the Saudi Arabian GP in 5th and 6th place. It’s a result that brings little satisfaction to the German team, especially considering the outcome of qualifying. Russell and Antonelli had started from 3rd and 5th on the grid respectively. Toto Wolff spoke after the race to explain what happened, but admitted to having doubts about this car.
“Clearly, this was our worst performance so far this year. The pace dropped due to blistering and overheating of the tyres, and we haven’t found any explanation yet. Today we also saw a significant gap to Ferrari and Max.”
Mercedes had higher expectations in Saudi Arabia
Toto Wolff continued by saying that the German team had arrived in Jeddah expecting to fight for a podium. “We need to analyze our performance, understand why it went like this, and quickly find improvements. When you show up aiming for second place, a race like this only adds to the frustration.”
The Mercedes Team Principal then praised his drivers, emphasizing that the issue lies with the car and not with the performances of Kimi Antonelli or George Russell. “Both drivers fought hard with the limitations they were facing. Even with better management in different stages of the race, George would never have been able to prevent Leclerc and Norris from overtaking. Kimi continued his development to secure sixth place and keep Lewis behind. That helped us limit the damage against our direct rivals in the Constructors’ Championship, but we cannot leave Saudi Arabia satisfied.” – the Mercedes team principal pointed out.
With the Saudi Arabian round behind them, it’s now time to head to Miami, and Toto Wolff is already looking ahead to the sixth race of the season. “The next race in Miami is another one on hot asphalt, so we’ll need to do better than today if we want to avoid a repeat performance.”
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