Photo Credits: Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
By the time the chequered flag was waved in Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had finished fifth and seventh at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes had a hard-fought race with their rivals but more so – between their own teammates. However, despite some intense radio messages at times, Bradley Lord, Motorsport Communications Director at Mercedes, is in no doubt that the team’s drivers will calmly discuss the moments in their debrief.
Both Mercedes drivers started Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid – Lewis Hamilton P7 with his teammate George Russell just behind in P8. Unfortunately for these drivers though, Sergio Perez had a Japanese Grand Prix to forget with several incidents which saw the Mexican driver receive a penalty. One of which saw him make contact with Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race. The contact saw the seven-time Drivers’ World Champion fall back, but he was still able to make a two-stop strategy work. For George Russell, the plan was a one stop and with the two drivers running different strategies but being so close together on track – compromise would be needed.
Each driver demonstrated moments of frustration with the other during the race and in the absence of team boss Toto Wolff, it was up to Bradley Lord to face the media and respond to the intense nature of the radio calls. Lord’s remarks showed that this is common in racing – especially at the moment of frustration within the cockpit – and would be discussed calmly later on.
“They’re obviously both racing hard in a car that was tricky pushing to the limit and yeah there were obviously there was some radio traffic as well that reflected that but I think we’ve got into the habit over the years of not reading too much into what’s said in the heat of the moment and in the pressure of the cockpit particularly at a hot and demanding race like this one and anything that needs tidying up or discussing afterwards, we’ll be able to do away from that pressure cooker and nice and calmly in the debrief,” Lord stated.
For his part George Russell was already downplaying the broadcast comments which included his “Who do we want to fight here, each other or the others?” team radio remark.
“When you’re in the car, 48 laps in, giving it everything, trying to make a suboptimal strategy work, that radio is a tool to release frustration,” Russell stated with refreshing openness. “It wasn’t for any big positions and at the end didn’t change our race result whatsoever.”
What was a big factor is the fact that Ferrari brought an upgrade to Suzuka and even though Mercedes qualified behind Ferrari, many had expected the team to be quicker in the race as they have better tyre degradation than their rivals. However, seeing how that was not the case in Japan, Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director was called on to explain the reason why.
“I think I mean part of it is linked to the temperatures so some of that deg you get is just as the tyres get hotter and hotter over the first eight laps. Also, I think the performance deficit that was there in qualifying where we have a bit less performance through the faster corners it’s the same thing that’s costing us in the race. So, I think really at this track it is just about how much grip have you got in the fast corners.
“A lot of that will be downforce and we do look like we’re a little bit behind in that regard here they [Ferrari] did bring an updated floor so maybe they move forward. I think if we look at some of our recent tracks, that advantage we have on degradation doesn’t look as evident now in the season as it was in in the earlier races,” explained Shovlin.
The form of Ferrari is surely a worrying prospect for all those who cheer on the Silver Arrows. However, the day belonged to Red Bull Racing who secured the 2023 World Constructors’ Championship. Meanwhile, Mercedes now have a slender 20-point advantage over Ferrari and are very much looking over their shoulders. One thing is clear, the last thing the team can do is fight between themselves when the rivals they are fighting with continue to gain on them.
