Mercedes had nevertheless perfectly launched its weekend in
Japan with a new 100% silver front row,
Kimi Antonelli ahead of
George Russell. But as in previous rounds, everything
became complicated as soon as the lights went out.
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Both drivers lost
several positions on the first lap, with Russell dropping to
fourth while Antonelli fell back to sixth
place. A frustrating scenario for a team that was nevertheless dominant
over one lap, but which is still struggling to convert this advantage into
a race.
This missed start illustrates a
persistent weakness since the start of the season: a difficulty in
fully exploiting the potential of the car in the
first seconds of the race, a moment that is nevertheless crucial in the
final hierarchy.
Setup
choices with heavy consequences
Beyond the start, Toto Wolff
acknowledged that the decisions made before the race heavily
penalized George Russell. A setup change made after
Free Practice 3 reportedly unbalanced the car at the
most critical moment of the weekend.
“I think the race became complicated for him
as soon as the setup choices were made after qualifying. The car
was in a much worse window than in FP3,” explains the
Mercedes boss
These adjustments had a
direct impact on Russell’s pace, as he was unable to compete with
his teammate in the race. A situation all the more frustrating
as the performance base seemed solid before these
modifications.
Between human errors and technical problems
While Wolff also points to
errors by his drivers at the start, he admits that the team did
not provide them with the best conditions to perform.
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“We are not giving our drivers the best
tools for the starts, even if there were also errors on their
part,” he admits
Russell’s situation was
further complicated by poor strategic timing. His stop
just before the safety car intervention cost him
precious positions, unlike Antonelli, who was favored by the
circumstances.
To make matters worse, a
software problem aggravated his case.
“We had a bug that caused ‘super
clipping’, and he was overtaken by
Leclerc. It’s literally everything that could go
wrong,” concludes Wolff
A
victory that masks persistent flaws
Despite the final victory,
Mercedes is not hiding its concerns. The team knows that this type
of cumulative error could be very costly against ever-closer
competition.
This weekend at Suzuka therefore acts as a
warning: even in a position of strength, the slightest approximation
— strategic, technical or operational — can quickly
turn a race around.
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