Mercedes
Mercedes split their strategies at the start, with Antonelli on the softs and Russell on the mediums. The former managed to hold onto second place, while the latter lost out to Lawson at the start. But Russell soon found a way past. Antonelli was the filling in the sandwich when Piastri barrelled down the inside at the Safety Car restart, as he took the hit and then collided with Leclerc. Despite that, his car retained its speed and he was able to put together his best race to date.
The duo’s strategies converged late on and they were running second and third. But Russell suffered some brake problems and could not hold off a charging Verstappen. Antonelli could, coming under huge pressure for the last few laps but just holding on to record his best Grand prix finish.
George Russell, 4th
“It’s been a tough weekend for me. I’ve been struggling with the car and to find the necessary pace to really challenge at the front. To take home P4 after a long race is a good result, both for me and for the team given our position in the Constructors’ Championship. I was having to manage my brake temperatures at the end and that made it more difficult to fight Verstappen for P3. Realistically though, I’m not sure we had the pace today to get on the podium.
“Our goal for the end of the season is clear: beat Red Bull and Ferrari to P2 come Abu Dhabi. This weekend has put us back in the driving seat in the battle and hopefully we can build on that in the year-ending triple-header. Kimi did a great job to get P2 too. He’s been super quick all weekend and that’s great to see. We will be working as pair to score as many points as possible and hopefully come out on top by the time we reach the chequered flag at Yas Marina.”
Kimi Antonelli, 2nd
“Overall, this weekend, we have done a great job as a team. We weren’t the quickest car here, so I think we’ve absolutely maximised each session and result with P2 in both qualifying sessions, the Sprint, and today’s race. There are still a lot of things I am learning and improving on, but this gives me good confidence going into the final three races of the season. Our battle is for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, and I am glad we could add a good haul of points here in Brazil.
“It was also looking like we might not score any points at one point. I had a bad restart following the Safety Car, picking up lots of wheelspin. I had both Charles (Leclerc) and Oscar (Piastri) either side; I braked late and was leaving space for the Ferrari along with not closing the inside of the corner down too sharply for the McLaren. Unfortunately, three into one is always going to be difficult; Oscar locked up and next thing I knew contact was made and then I was pushed into Charles. It was a shame that it ended the Ferrari’s race but that’s racing sometimes.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“That was a good way to end a solid weekend here in Brazil. After taking P2 and P3 in yesterday’s Sprint, we backed that up with P2 and P4 today. We weren’t quick enough to challenge Norris, which we expected pre-race, and the Red Bull clearly solved their issues with their changes under parc fermé. It was therefore good to see Kimi keep Max (Verstappen) behind at the end. He did so on a much older and harder tyre; Max had great pace today so that was no easy task once the Red Bull had got onto the back of us. George also had a faster car chasing him down in the closing stages with Piastri closing in. The McLaren was in DRS range for several laps, but George kept him at bay well to take P4.
“We have regained our hold on P2 in the Constructors’ Championship as we leave Brazil. Making sure we finish there when the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi is our aim. Having a lead over Red Bull and Ferrari as we head into the year-ending triple-header is positive, but we know how quickly things can change. We will keep our feet on the ground, work diligently, and aim to put in another solid weekend next time out in Las Vegas.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“Today’s result is very welcome following a couple of difficult weekends in Austin and Mexico. It was also great to see Kimi get his first P2 finish in F1.
“The race got off to a rather busy start for both drivers. George had a decent start but lost a place around the outside of turn one to a car on the Soft tyre. He was struggling with oversteer which wasn’t helped by having to push to get through Lawson and Hadjar. He was able to extend the stint but we decided to commit to two stops and take the Soft tyre in the middle phase. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace to keep Verstappen behind, but he did a great job to hold P4 from Piastri in the closing stages.
“Kimi had a relatively uneventful start but the same cannot be said of the Safety Car restart. He was the middle one of three cars into turn one and when Piastri locked on the inside and ran into him, Kimi got knocked into Leclerc. Luckily, we were able to keep going and managed to stay ahead of Piastri at the finish but it was a big hit that seemed to hurt the balance and consistency of the car. Overall, we didn’t have the pace to fight for a win today but P2 is very satisfying result for Kimi and 43 points total this weekend is a nice result for the team.”
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