It is rather unfortunate when someone like Hamilton, who races for the esteemed Mercedes team, considers a battle with Nico Hulkenberg in a Haas as a noteworthy moment in his race. However, this speaks to the current dire situation that Mercedes finds themselves in, where they try to find any positives in their experiences, no matter how uneventful they may be. Sadly, it was yet another underwhelming weekend for Mercedes, as their highly anticipated upgrades, which Toto Wolff couldn’t stop talking about, did not live up to expectations.
To be honest, we are unsure of what these upgrades actually delivered because the performance of the W15 was so inconsistent. It was difficult to determine whether it was the setup, the track conditions, or the car itself that was causing the fluctuation in performance from one session to another. While the Sprint race did not showcase their strengths, Hamilton was able to secure points in the grand prix on Sunday. He managed to surpass Hulkenberg and took advantage of Oscar Piastri’s misfortune, who dropped down the grid due to a broken front wing caused by Carlos Sainz.
Despite the challenges, the seven-time Formula 1 Champion expressed contentment in his team report, stating, “In my race today, I engaged in some thrilling battles on the track. I gave it my all to make progress and executed a few impressive overtakes. Towards the end, we even challenged the Red Bull, which was a great feeling. Today was perhaps the most exhilarating day of racing I have experienced this year, so we must continue to push ourselves. We have some minor upgrades planned for Imola, and while other teams are also developing, we will remain dedicated to our hard work.”
Although George Russell outperformed Hamilton in qualifying, he ultimately finished behind him in the grand prix. Losing positions at the start made for a challenging afternoon in Miami. Russell commented, “My race today was difficult. I lost a few positions at the start, and in the final stint, I struggled significantly with the Hard tires. We will analyze why this was the case. The lack of speed caught us off guard, but Lewis had a strong race, proving that the car does possess speed.”
Wolff expressed his optimism in a different manner than Hamilton, commending his team responsible for McLaren’s victory. After extending his congratulations to Norris and McLaren, he proceeded to acknowledge the individuals involved in the creation and operation of the Mercedes Power Unit at High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. Emphasizing the reliability of their power units, Wolff also highlighted the positive performance of their race, particularly on the Medium tire. Although Hamilton was faster than Perez in the Red Bull on the same compound, he was unable to overtake. Despite George’s struggles on the Hard tire, the overall improvement and solid pace compared to other teams were encouraging. As the weekend concluded, Wolff found satisfaction in Hamilton’s superior performance over the Red Bull driver, especially considering the challenges faced by the reigning F1 Champions in optimizing their RB20. Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2013 proved to be a wise choice, and it is possible that abandoning Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 could be a stroke of genius.