Mercedes have been left scratching their heads after struggling their “worst efficiency of the 12 months” on the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
After George Russell challenged for pole place, Mercedes endured a disappointing and reasonably nameless race in Jeddah. The Briton slipped from third on the grid to a distant fifth, forward of rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell ended up half a minute down on the entrance with fifth and sixth representing Mercedes’ joint-worst results of the 2025 season to this point.
Extra regarding was the Silver Arrows’ normal lack of race tempo, one thing which left group principal Toto Wolff perplexed.
“It was clearly our worst efficiency of the 12 months to this point,” Wolff stated. “The tempo simply dropped away with blistering, overheating tyres and to this point we haven’t received a proof.”
“You handle your expectations being the second quickest – and even that isn’t clearly what we might want to obtain – and you then see the race panning out prefer it did.
“It simply provides to the frustration of the scenario.”
Regardless of their underwhelming efficiency in Saudi Arabia, Mercedes stay a strong second within the constructors’ championship on 111 factors, 77 adrift of leaders McLaren.
George Russell’s tyres felt like a balloon
Russell blamed overheating for his lack of tempo, explaining that his tyres felt like “a balloon” within the closing levels. He was heard airing considerations a couple of potential failure over group radio as he nursed his tyres to the tip.
“I used to be pushing laborious to stick with Max firstly of the second stint,” Russell instructed Sky Sports activities F1. “However I knew I wasn’t going to have the ability to maintain on and we fell off that cliff in direction of the tip.
“I used to be dropping a second a lap within the final 15 laps, however to be truthful, we simply didn’t have the tempo and even when I had managed extra, I feel I nonetheless would have come house in P5.
“We all know that it’s a little bit of a weak spot of our automotive in the intervening time. And coming house P5 on a nasty day – we’ll take it – however we have to attempt to enhance it rapidly.
“It’s about how briskly we’re going by means of these corners, and for no matter purpose, we have generated extra temperature than our rivals.
“Then all of the sudden you get to some extent the place the tyres are like a balloon. We had blistering on the entrance, blistering on the rear, after which all of the sudden you simply don’t have any grip from the tyre in any respect.”
