F1 News

Mercedes concerned after US GP: 'There are issues we haven't got to the bottom of'

Mercedes concerned after US GP: 'There are issues we haven't got to the bottom of'

25-10-2021 08:06
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Lewis Hamilton's World Championship title hopes took a major dent as he lost out to Max Verstappen in the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. To add to that, Red Bull Racing also gained on Mercedes in the F1 Constructors Championship. Mercedes are brutally honest with themselves and admit they just "weren't good enough" in America. 

Verstappen clinched pole position with a two-tenth advantage in the final run of Q3. And the Dutchman experienced a few drops of rain in the final sector of that lap. Sergio Perez almost stole pole position and certainly would've been closer had the rain not fallen. Hamilton had seemingly recovered from this by taking the lead at the opening corner. Trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin is honest. 

"A frustrating day but we've not been strong enough here and whilst the win wasn't miles out of our reach, we weren't good enough in qualifying on Saturday and we weren't good enough on the Medium tyre in the first stint. Added to that, Valtteri's penalty meant he wasn't in the fight at the front and strategically that made our life more difficult," Shovlin explains in the Mercedes press release. 

A few issues

Traditionally, Mercedes have been strong in Austin. Up until Saturday, the German team had a 100% record for pole position, and Hamilton has won in Texas four times as a Mercedes driver. Shovlin explains there are a few issues which potentially stopped Hamilton adding another win to his tally in America. 

"We understand a few of the issues that have cost us a bit of pace here, but there are others that we've not yet got to the bottom of, so that's something we need to make progress with ahead of the remaining races. We can't be anything other than disappointed when we've lost a chunk of points in both Championships but there is still a long way to go, and we've been in a worse position earlier in the Championship and pulled it back," he added.

"We've got a bit of time to regroup before the triple header and prepare for the races ahead; getting the most out of the car over the next five tracks is going to be key to retaining the titles so we will be working hard in the next few days to do just that."