Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has conceded the team got their Formula 1 set-up changes to George Russell's car "wrong" ahead of Spanish Grand Prix qualifying.
The British driver managed only 12th on the grid at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after a dramatic session that culminated in contact with teammate Lewis Hamilton in Q2.
But Russell struggled with bouncing issues over bumps around the Spanish venue, with Wolff confirming a mistake was made pre-session.
"We changed some things for qualifying and that went wrong," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com.
"The car didn't bounce before but it bounced in qualifying and it cost us dearly."
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Disappointment is big
Hamilton was able to advance to Q3 but was unable to advance past fifth on the grid, though a penalty for Pierre Gasly will promote the seven-time F1 World Champion to fourth.
"We should have been right behind Max, this is what we saw after FP3. That is why the disappointment is big, because we expected more," explained Wolff.
"Having said that, when you look at the gaps it is very compressed with everyone and you can get it wrong easily.
"I don't know what happened to Leclerc, he is out in Q1, Perez out in Q2 - that is a bit of a mystery.
"The wind changed 180 degrees and some were caught out maybe."
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