Mercedes look to bounce back in Mexico, FP1 for Antonelli

At the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Lewis Hamilton faced one of his most challenging weekends in Formula 1. He was eliminated in Q1, starting the race from P17. His luck didn’t improve, as he crashed out on the first lap, capping off a very disappointing weekend for the Ferrari-bound seven-time F1 World champ..

In the sister car, George Russell also faced difficulties in Austin. After crashing in qualifying on Saturday, he was forced to start the race from the pitlane but managed to recover to finish P6. Despite the recovery, the performance gap of the Mercedes W15 to the top three - Ferrari, Red VBull and McLaren - continues to cause concern for the team.

While Mercedes has managed to secure victories this season, their W15 chassis has proven troublesome, and the team seems to have lost direction in extracting consistent performance. The Mercedes power unit, however, does not appear to be the issue, as McLaren, a customer team, has frequently outpaced Mercedes' works cars this year.

As the team heads to Mexico for Round 20 of the 2024 F1 World Championship, they are looking for a swift recovery. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has been a successful venue for Mercedes in the past, with three wins—two from Lewis Hamilton (2016 and 2019) and one from Nico Rosberg (2015) when the track returned to the calendar after a 23-year hiatus.

Team principal Toto Wolff, looking ahead to the Mexican Grand Prix, addressed the team’s challenges and goals for the weekend: "After a difficult weekend in Austin, we have the opportunity to bounce back immediately in Mexico.

"Our performance in Texas showed that there is inherent performance in the car. Our challenge is extracting this consistently. That is not the result of one specific challenge, but the interaction of the car across both aero and mechanical factors," explained the Mercedes boss.

Wolff emphasized the importance of making progress before the season ends, stating: "We have five more races to work on this before the end of the season. It is important that we do so, not only for our immediate performance but to also set ourselves up well for 2025."

Mexico presents a unique test for the team, given its high altitude: "The power unit has to work harder and, to counteract the thin air, we run at maximum downforce. It will provide another opportunity to evaluate our recent update package.

Wolff also confirmed his protege and Mercedes 2025 driver, teenager Kimi Antonelli will have his second FP1 chance, no doubt seeking to make amends for his Monza fail: "Kimi will also be in the car for his second FP1 session, and we look forward to him continuing his development on track."

As Mercedes aim to turn things around in Mexico, the focus will be on refining the W15’s performance while providing valuable track time for their future star, Antonelli.

As for the 2024 F1 World Championship standings, Mercedes's numbers make for a miserable reading as they are doomed to P4 in the Constructors title race, over 15o points adrift of their top three rival teams.

After 19 rounds and ahead of action in Mexico City this weekend, in the F1 Drivers' standings, Hamilton is P6 on 177 points exactly half of leader Max Verstappen's tally, with Russell in P8 on 167 points.