Mercedes uncover crucial problem behind Russell’s sudden loss to Leclerc

The British driver made a strong launch off the line, getting the better of his team-mate, although he lost out to both Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in the process.

At a crucial stage of the race, while battling the McLaren driver for the lead, Oliver Bearman’s crash brought out the safety car just as he and Leclerc were yet to pit.

That timing proved costly for Russell, who dropped several positions and rejoined behind his team-mate in third. At the restart, he was immediately passed by Hamilton, and just a few laps later also by Leclerc, who came through with a clear pace advantage.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Wolff shed light on that very moment: "It was a bug in the electrical system in the software to try to give him an advantage. What it gave was a super clip that slowed the car down and this is where he unexpectedly lost the position to Leclerc, so we didn't cover ourselves in glory with George's race."

The Austrian struck a notably different tone to the widespread criticism from drivers over the new regulations and the racing produced by the current cars, even after what unfolded at Suzuka.

While the race once again featured a higher number of overtakes compared to last year’s edition, many of them were driven by differences in energy deployment rather than traditional wheel-to-wheel battles under braking.

Speaking to DAZN after the race, the Mercedes team principal nevertheless backed the direction of the sport, insisting Formula 1 is evolving into a form of racing he finds increasingly compelling, particularly with the contrasting strategies between harvesting and deployment.