Why George Russell couldn’t attack in F1 Las Vegas GP – full Mercedes technical breakdown. George Russell was denied a potential victory in Las Vegas.

Mercedes ended the Las Vegas GP with a strong double podium. Yet, a steering issue on George Russell’s car, first noticed in qualifying and recurring during the race, may have cost the team a victory. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Track Engineering Director, detailed what happened and how the team plans to analyze the situation ahead of the next round in Qatar.

The steering anomaly

Andrew Shovlin confirmed that it was not a malfunction of the steering wheel itself, but rather the entire steering system. “George told us over the radio that the steering was acting strangely. From the data, we could see the loads in the steering column and the electric-assist pressures, and something didn’t add up: the torque he was receiving didn’t match the actual loads.”

The team then requested FIA approval to replace components under parc fermé rules after qualifying. “After the replacement, everything seemed fixed, but during the race, another unusual event occurred,” Andrew Shovlin explained.

The issue remains unresolved: “We don’t yet know if this was specific to Las Vegas, if two different sets of components share the same anomaly, or if the problem lies elsewhere in the car and the faulty part wasn’t replaced. We need to understand it before Qatar. Safety comes first, even before performance.”

Loss of performance

Beyond the steering problem, George Russell experienced difficulties in the final phase of the race, drawing attention from many observers. Andrew Shovlin clarified: “He suffered a bit of graining, like other drivers. He was probably over-managing, going too slow, and the tyres cooled down as a result.”

This contrasted with Kimi Räikkönen’s driving style, who in the same stint managed to improve lap after lap. “Kimi was pushing a bit more, which helped him keep the tyres in the optimal window.”

With third place already secure, George Russell chose a cautious approach. “He had a gap to P4 and used it to avoid stressing the tyres. In the final laps, however, we asked him not to hold up Kimi, who had a five-second penalty, and to increase the pace.”

The result? A small discovery: “As soon as he started pushing harder, he said the tyres felt better. In hindsight, he believes he should have done that sooner.”