Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff Saudi Arabian GP leaves the team at a loss as Saturday’s pace disappears on a difficult Sunday.
Mercedes’ strong qualifying performance did not translate to strong race pace in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian GP. The Mercedes duo of George Russel and Andrea Kimi Antonelli eventually came home line astern in P5 and P6. This was in spite of an impressive P3 and P5 on Saturday.
Reflecting on the disappointing result for the team, team principal Toto Wolff was at a loss for their lack of race pace. He noted tyre temperature as the main limiting factor for the team over the course of the Grand Prix.
“No.” Wolff replied bluntly when asked if there was a clear cause to the team’s lack of race pace. “Clearly our worst performance so far from the year that the pace just dropped away with a blistering tyre and overheating tyres and so far we haven’t so far we haven’t got the explanations. That’s it.”
Backing up his claims of tyre issues was a worrying radio call from George Russell towards the end of the Grand Prix. Having slowed his pace by roughly 1 second a lap, Russell called into question the integrity of his tyre. Noting a substantial band forming on the inside of the tyre, Russell was left concerned.
When questioned on Russell’s concerns, Wolff denied there was ever any risk of a blowout.
“There was no risk.” He stated. “There was never any risk. We had a band coming off the tyre. There was no, let’s say, integrity risk.”
Delving deeper into the team’s performance, Wolff seemed concerned by Mercedes’ relative lack of pace against Red Bull and Ferrari. Having enjoyed what many consider to be the 2nd fastest car so far in 2025, this came as a shock.
The Mercedes man explained the frustration of a performance such as this apparently coming from nowhere.
“Today we saw no land against Ferrari and Max [Verstappen] also.” Wolff said. “So that’s why that was an additional negative. When you kind of manage your expectations for being second quickest.
“Even that is not obviously what we would wish to achieve and then you see this race coming and panning out like it did. It just adds to the frustration of the situation.”
Wolff ‘s 2025 Saudi Arabian GP reflections highlight the Mercedes’ man’s apparent shock after a disappointing Sunday. In spite of a disappointing result however, Mercedes remain firmly in control of P2 in the Constructors Championship. The German marque still maintain a 22 point lead over Red Bull in P3.
