Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have reflected on their races at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
George Russell came home P5 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, wrapping up a frustrating evening in Jeddah where tyre degradation and a misjudged strategy left him on the back foot.
Starting from third on the grid, Russell looked set to be in podium contention early on. Still, a rapid drop-off in performance forced him into damage limitation mode as both Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris swept past in the final stint.
“We’re definitely not satisfied with P5,” Russell admitted after the race. “Today was a very bad day as a team… it was all about tyres, and we didn’t get it right.”
Mercedes’ decision to pit him earlier than those around him left him nursing older tyres through the final 15 laps. While he had shown promising pace in Bahrain, this weekend exposed the W15’s vulnerability in hotter conditions, particularly over long stints.
“I was pushing quite hard to stay with Max [Verstappen], and then I just fell off the cliff,” Russell said. “We knew that was a possibility… ultimately, had I managed more, the result would have been the same.”
Though visibly disappointed, Russell’s consistency remains unmatched. He is the only driver on the grid to finish in the top five in the last ten races.
“In those moments when you don’t have the pace, we’re just picking up those points,” he added. “That is a positive. But we need to find some performance- and find it quickly.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli speaks of struggles under the lights in Jeddah
Team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli confirmed his struggles at the Saudi Arabian GP, but said his pace in the race’s closing stages was strong.
“On medium I struggled a lot, I had a lot of understeer and I degraded the front quite a lot earlier on, so the pace on the medium was not really good.
“But then on the hard I felt much better. I think the last 10 laps were really strong, the pace was actually really good.
“But I think I had to manage quite a lot as well on the second stint, because definitely on the medium, the first few laps, especially trying to keep up and with a bit of dirt here as well, the front just gave up and I was very limited with the balance.
“But then obviously on hard I had a little bit different approach also because I was more by myself and then the last 10 laps were actually really positive. So, still good learning and now a bit of rest and then my aim.
“Definitely it was also good to get through the first triple header as well physically, seeing how I handled the situation. But yeah, overall massive learning and especially I think I was happy with the second stint, with how I managed the tyre.”
For now, P5 is a silver lining on an otherwise lacklustre day. But if Russell’s patience starts to wear thin, it’s with good reason. Mercedes still has a long way to go before their ambitions match their execution.
