Mercedes
It was a lonely race for Mercedes, with solely one another to struggle. Hamilton picked off Russell initially, however Russell acquired him again after the Security Automotive got here in. That was the established order during the primary stint and into the second, however then Russell picked up some entrance wing harm which allowed Hamilton to shut again up. It took the previous world champion fairly just a few laps to discover a well past, however in the long run he took the intra-team honours.
Lewis Hamilton, 4th
“We finally moved ahead and introduced residence good factors right now for the workforce. We weren’t trying so racy within the first stint; I didn’t have sufficient front-wing within the automotive and was struggling with a lot of understeer. We had been capable of enhance the steadiness at our second cease and our tempo acquired higher. Even when we had loved that velocity within the first stint although, we nonetheless wouldn’t have had the tempo to problem these forward for the rostrum. P4 and P5 remains to be barely higher than we predicted right now although so we could be happy with our afternoon.
“This hasn’t been the smoothest weekend for the workforce, however we’ve gathered a whole lot of info throughout each specs. We will now analyse that knowledge and consider one of the simplest ways ahead for subsequent weekend in Brazil and the remainder of the season. Hopefully we are able to get the automotive in a barely higher spot for Interlagos and take the struggle to the Ferraris and McLarens.”
George Russell, fifth
“I had a powerful first stint, however I hit a bump as I overtook the McLaren of Oscar Piastri initially of my second stint and picked up some front-wing harm. It was positively costing me a few tenths a lap by way of efficiency which was a little bit of a disgrace. We needed to do over 30 laps carrying that however even with out it, we wouldn’t have had the velocity to problem for the rostrum. Total, then, P4 and P5 is probably going the place we deserved to be right now as a workforce and maybe a bit bit higher than we thought going into the race.
“We’ll preserve working arduous to enhance as we wish to be battling proper on the entrance. We proceed to make progress with the automotive, as you’ll be able to see with the hole rising to the groups behind us within the championship. We’ve additionally closed the hole on Crimson Bull because the begin of the season but it surely’s clear that Ferrari and McLaren have made much more progress. We’ll use these closing 4 races of the season to proceed constructing our studying, take a look at various things out, and set ourselves up effectively for subsequent 12 months.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“Total, P4 and P5 is probably going the place we’re pace-wise with our automotive for the time being. On circuits that demand good traction, we aren’t capable of compete with these proper on the very entrance. That’s irritating however we’re working arduous to deliver extra efficiency and construct momentum for 2025. These closing few races are a superb alternative for us to check various things and put ourselves in as sturdy a place as doable for subsequent 12 months.
“In right now’s race, George was hindered by front-wing harm which was costing him a superb chunk of efficiency. He nonetheless drove strongly, and his tempo was first rate in comparison with Verstappen behind. The Crimson Bull by no means turned a menace to our race after the primary pit cease. We additionally noticed that, as soon as he was in free air, Lewis’ velocity was good on the Onerous compound and comparative to these on the entrance. We now head to Brazil and shall be trying to finish the triple-header as strongly as doable.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“With out incidents, P4 and P5 is probably going one of the best end result we might have introduced residence right now. As soon as Verstappen picked up his penalty, we believed we’d be interacting with him in some unspecified time in the future after these first stops. Encouragingly, each George and Lewis had the velocity to tug away from him and rating stable factors. George was hindered when the entrance wing flap collapsed after he hit a bump throughout an overtake initially of the second stint. Regardless of that, he nonetheless maintained adequate tempo to deliver it residence in fifth. We let the drivers race one another all through; that meant that Lewis’ tyres had been previous their finest as soon as he made it into clear air. We did not get a terrific learn on our final tempo however clearly we have to discover extra velocity if we’re to problem proper on the very entrance.
“It has not been the smoothest of weekends right here in Mexico or on the earlier race in Austin. We’ve got learnt lots as a workforce although over each Grands Prix. With our place within the Constructors’ Championship possible set, we even have the chance to additional our studying over the ultimate 4 races. We’ll proceed to do this as we head to Brazil and Interlagos for the ultimate race on this triple-header.”
