Niki Lauda has said that engine issues stopped Mercedes from challenging higher up and was what ultimately the reason for their poor weekend at a venue they would usually thrive at.
In the early stages, Lewis Hamilton reported he was feeling a loss of power which was later explained as a cooling issue on his car that was fixed at his first and only pitstop.
“We could not use our new engine which is part of it. But the Ferrari as a package is unbelievable.
"The car is fantastic and the engine, and on fuel consumption – they were going like hell all through the race. We have to really work hard now. Red Bull were a surprise but ultimately they were behind.
"Lewis had a temperature issue on his engine. He had to watch it and therefore couldn't go full speed."