Mercedes admit to error over crucial Mexican GP decision

Mercedes has admitted it left it too late to be decisive with its driver approach during the Mexico City Grand Prix.

After the first round of pit stops, Haas' Oliver Bearman found himself running in third with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Russell following behind.

Russell felt he was being held up by his team-mate while also coming under pressure from Oscar Piastri.

Following several laps of pleading his case to the Mercedes pit wall, Russell was eventually let past by Antonelli following a team order - but he couldn't close up and move ahead of Bearman.

Analysing the situation, team representative Bradley Lord asserted Mercedes was initially keen to let their drivers race.

“It was a really tricky situation,” he said. 

“We had Kimi driving in a way to manage his tyres, managing a one stop and doing exactly what was being asked of him. George, obviously under pressure from Piastri, closing up on Kimi and very much feeling that squeeze between Kimi in front, who was managing everything quite carefully.

“George obviously coming up from behind, closing that gap and then in the dirty air, using more of his tyres because of that, and also feeling that he had pace to get past.

“So it did take a while to figure that out, because we were initially a team, we would let our drivers race, and that's what our racing intent calls for.”

While Mercedes admitted it took too long to make a decision, it also highlighted it did not appear to have the core pace to make a push for the podium

“We did eventually decide to swap,” Lord added. “And I think in hindsight, regardless of whether we decided to hold position or swap, it was the delay that was the thing that didn't work out for us. 

“By the time George was passed, his tyres were past their best and he couldn't get past Bearman. 

“Equally, later in the race on fresh tyres, once he'd made the second stop, he had another chance to attack and was unable to make the move stick then either. So I think on the day, we weren't quite quick enough to make that happen. 

“The lesson is really that we should have been more decisive either in asking to hold position or swapping the positions rather than waiting the time we did.”

Antonelli and Russell eventually finished in sixth and seventh respectively after Russell handed the track position back to his team-mate.