The Las Vegas Grand Prix witnessed a remarkable turnaround from Mercedes, as they stunned the Formula 1 world with a dominant display. After a challenging period since the summer break, where they lagged behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren, Mercedes came back with a vengeance. George Russell led the charge, claiming victory from pole position, while Lewis Hamilton made a remarkable recovery from 10th on the grid, securing a 1-2 finish for the team, their first since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2022.
Mercedes’ Unexpected Dominance
Despite not having a complete explanation for their success on the Las Vegas street circuit, Mercedes believes the cooler temperatures played a pivotal role. The team has struggled with rear tyre overheating during the season, but the conditions in Vegas allowed them to maintain their tyres’ optimal performance.
Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, highlighted the importance of the temperature factor, stating, “It’s cold. I think that clearly you can correlate where we’ve been strong. We’ve been strong in Silverstone, we’ve been strong in Spa, and then here in Las Vegas. I think it’s just keeping the car in its sweet spot, the tyres in the optimum window.”
The Tyre Puzzle
One of the most intriguing aspects of Mercedes’ performance was their ability to avoid the graining issues that plagued other teams, especially Ferrari. Wolff described this phenomenon as “strange,” as Mercedes could push whenever required without encountering graining on either the medium or hard tyres.
Charles Leclerc attempted to challenge George Russell during the race, but the Mercedes driver fended him off effectively. Wolff noted, “He couldn’t hold the pace, we didn’t ever see the sign of graining nor degradation.”
Turning Weakness into Strength
Interestingly, Mercedes’ typical disadvantage of rear tyre overheating proved beneficial in the cooler conditions. Wolff explained that breaking traction under these circumstances helped maintain tyre temperature, suggesting that the team could potentially optimise this to their advantage in future races.
Wolff commented on the different performances based on temperature, pointing out that some teams thrived in cooler conditions while others excelled in the heat. This insight is crucial for Mercedes as they aim to find a balance that suits them across diverse race conditions.
Data-Driven Insights for Future Success
Wolff is hopeful that analysing the data from the Las Vegas GP will provide valuable insights for the team moving forward. This result, according to Wolff, signifies a crucial step in understanding their car’s “sweet spot.”
He concluded, “This one is a really important result. You have fluctuations over the weekend, and then normally you can see we’ve been good here [in practice], then we’ve been not so good in that session. But here, every single session, we were ahead. So lots of good data that allow us to say at least we know what our sweet spot is, and this is where we need to be.”
Mercedes’ unexpected success in Las Vegas provides not only a significant morale boost but also a promising direction as they look towards the 2025 season. The data gathered from this race could be key in helping Mercedes consistently find and maintain their competitive edge.
