Mercedes admits: ' We made mistakes in Japan'

Mercedes hoped for a rain race in Japan, got a rain race, but still failed to impress. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, while George Russell went no further than eighth. Not the result that had been hoped for.

The big problem was that Mercedes - not already in possession of the most powerful engine - lacked top speed on the straights, admits technical director Andrew Shovlin. "The right decision would have been a lower downforce setting," he says to Sky Sports. Not opting for that made overtaking very difficult, Shovlin now knows.

Immediately after the race, George Russell was critical of his team's strategy. He eventually managed to find his way back to P8, but according to Russell, there could have been more in it. "I probably could have fought for P5," he continued. He is therefore keen to talk to his team to see what could have been done better. "We need to sit down with the team and see what we could have done better because I think that was probably at the time not the right thing to do," the Mercedes driver concluded.

Mercedes will be hoping to make a better showing in Austin. The team will introduce the final update of the season in the United States, hoping to still win a Grand Prix this season.