Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was their most challenging race of the season, stating it was their “worst performance” after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli couldn`t compete for a podium finish.
Russell, who started third, fell back during the race despite initially hoping to contend for the lead.
After pitting for hard tires, the British driver lost significant time, finishing 27 seconds behind winner Oscar Piastri.
Discussing the issues, Russell told Sky Sports F1: “It was all about the tyres. They were massively overheating.”
“I was pushing hard to stay with Max [Verstappen] at the beginning of the second stint but I knew I wasn’t able to hold on.
“We fell off a cliff at the end. I was dropping a second per lap in the last 15 laps. We just didn’t have the pace and even if I managed more, I would have been fifth.
“Coming home in fifth on a bad day, we take it, but we need to improve it quickly.”
Charles Leclerc cruised past George Russell at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Wolff expressed confusion regarding Mercedes` significant tyre problems, especially as competitors like Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren improved their pace throughout the race.
He commented: “Clearly our worst performance so far from the year. The pace just dropped away with a blistering tyre and overheating tyres, and so far we haven’t got the explanations.”
“When you kind of manage your expectations by being second quickest, and even that is not obviously what we would wish to achieve, then you see this race panning out like it did, it just adds to the frustration of the situation.”
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Russell: Tyres Were Like a Balloon
Despite not adding to his season`s podium count, Russell maintained his record of finishing every race in the top five, positioning him 26 points behind the championship leader, Piastri.
Russell found the tyre degradation issue perplexing, especially since it hadn`t been a problem on other tracks known for being tough on tyres, like China and Bahrain.
“It’s more about how fast we are going through these corners and for whatever reason we are generating more temperature than our rivals,” he explained.
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“Suddenly you get to a point and the tyre is like a balloon. We had blistering on the front and rear, then we had no grip.
“We need to understand why Bahrain was so positive because that’s also an overheating track, but a very different type of overheating to what you experience in Jeddah.
“We had high hopes for Saudi Arabia but it turned out the opposite, so it’s something we need to understand.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen did just enough to beat McLaren driver Oscar Piastri to pole around Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Antonelli Enjoyed Testing Triple-Header
In contrast to Russell, Kimi Antonelli, who finished just seven seconds behind him in Saudi Arabia, reported no tyre issues towards the end of the race.
The 18-year-old told Sky Sports F1: “The last 10 to 15 laps were pretty positive.”
“The first stint I need to review because I was struggling with the balance and the front tyre dropped quite easily, so I had to pit earlier compared to the others.
“Then I had to manage a lot more on the hard, but the last 10 laps I was able to push and it was nice to see the pace was up there.”
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Antonelli, one of the youngest drivers in F1 history, had a couple of brushes with the wall during the race, which he described as “really scary”.
Although he appeared tired after the event, Antonelli continues to show promise, consistently staying relatively close to Russell and standing out among the rookies after five rounds.
Reflecting on the recent races, Antonelli said: “The triple-header was a good test physically and mentally, but also really good to learn.
“Three completely different tracks, situations, so it was good to experience that.
“I need to work on open tarmac where the degradation is higher. The degradation in Saudi was still there but it was good learnings from Bahrain, and I was happy with how I managed the car in the second stint.
“Now I have a week off to gather all the information and think about it properly to come back stronger.”
