Mercedes F1 struggled under the Jeddah lights as tyre overheating once again denied Russell and Antonelli a stronger finish.
Mercedes’ old demons returned under the Jeddah lights as tyre overheating once again held the team back from fighting at the front.
George Russell, who started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from P3, had his sights set on the podium—but had to settle for a distant fifth.
“Tonight was all about tyre management,” Russell explained. “Unfortunately, ours were overheating badly. I pushed early in the second stint to stay close to Max, but it quickly became clear that wasn’t going to happen. Leclerc and Norris were able to pass me later thanks to fresher tyres, and from there it was just about bringing the car home.”
“In the end, we just didn’t have the pace. Even with perfect execution, fifth was probably the best we could do today.”
Russell acknowledged that tyre overheating remains a key weakness for the team.
“We’ll take the positives from this weekend, but we have to fix this tyre issue fast. On days like this, we’ll have to accept fifth place—but we’re all pushing to make sure days like this don’t happen again.”
Meanwhile, rookie Kimi Antonelli quietly impressed once again, finishing just behind his teammate in sixth.
“It was a tough race, but overall, I’m happy with P6,” said Antonelli. “The car felt tricky on the mediums—I was struggling with understeer and the front tyres started to fade really early, which hurt our early pace. Things felt better on the hards, and our pace in the last 10 laps was strong.”
“Today was a great learning experience. It’s been an intense triple-header and I’ve got a lot to digest, but I’m looking forward to resetting and coming back stronger in Miami. We’ll keep working as a team to build momentum and improve.”
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Tyre Woes Strike Again as Mercedes Falter in Jeddah Tyre Woes Strike Again as Mercedes Falter in Jeddah
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