After an impressive 1-2 victory in Las Vegas, Mercedes hopes to have gained crucial insights for improving their performance in 2025. The German racing team, which has struggled to compete with teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull since the summer break, outdid itself on the Las Vegas street circuit. George Russell started from pole and took the victory, while teammate Lewis Hamilton drove from P10 to a second-place finish.
Cold Conditions Prove Crucial
Toto Wolff stated that the cold temperatures in Las Vegas played a key role in the team’s success. “It was cold,” Wolff explained. “We see a pattern in our strong performances on circuits where it’s cold, like Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, and now Las Vegas. These conditions are optimal for our car.”
Unexplained Tire Wear Among Competitors
A striking aspect of the race was the fact that Mercedes did not suffer from the tire wear that other teams, particularly Ferrari, experienced. Charles Leclerc tried to apply pressure, but fell back after a few laps due to degradation. Mercedes, on the other hand, remained free from wear, both on medium and hard tires. “It’s strange,” Wolff admitted. “We could push whenever we wanted without signs of degradation. That’s something we need to investigate further.”
Key Insights
A possible answer to this success, according to Wolff, lies in the biggest weakness of the Mercedes car this season: the rear end’s tendency to lose traction, causing the tires to overheat. In Las Vegas, this turned out to be an advantage, as it helped keep the tires warm in the cold conditions. “Normally, losing traction is very problematic, especially with high temperatures,” said the Austrian. “Here, it worked in our favor. It kept the tires warm.” Wolff also pointed out an interesting pattern: teams perform better under specific conditions. For instance, McLaren dominated in the heat of Singapore, while Mercedes flourished in the cold. “Finding a balance for next year will be important,” Wolff emphasized.
Although Mercedes does not yet have a complete answer as to why everything came together so well in Las Vegas, the race offers a valuable opportunity to analyze crucial data. According to Wolff, this can provide key insights into how the team can better tune their car to different conditions. “This result is hugely important. We were consistently the fastest team throughout the weekend, which has given us a lot of useful data. We now have a better understanding of when we perform well.”
