Mercedes’ decision to use the DRS to help George Russell defend against Carlos Sainz backfired and has come under scrutiny. In the end, a tactic that aimed to keep Sainz at bay, allowed the Ferrari driver to overtake Russell. Lewis Hamilton slammed the team’s decision to implement this strategy, saying it made no sense, as per Race Fans.
In Singapore, this strategy effectively created a buffer between Sainz and the pursuing Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. However, when Mercedes tried to replicate this strategy with their own stars, it didn’t work out as planned. Despite having an active DRS, Russell was overtaken by Sainz
As a result, seven-time world champion Hamilton has criticized the team’s decision, saying that he’s disappointed with how they were thinking.
Lewis Hamilton on why the strategy in Japan didn’t work
Hamilton was asked to slow down to allow Russell to get within 0.8 seconds for DRS activation, but this led to Sainz overtaking Russell, which The Briton saw as inevitable due to their different pit stop strategies. It also allowed Sainz to close in on Hamilton, making the last few laps challenging.
Hamilton stated (as reported by Race Fans), “When they suggested it to me, I knew that they had obviously thought of it from the last race and it made no sense.”
Hamilton suggested that if he swapped positions with Russell earlier, the latter might have had a better chance of staying ahead of Sainz. He felt that Russell’s attempt to compete with him only complicated matters and damaged his tyres.
Mercedes and their failed one-stop strategy
Teams usually go for a two-stop tire strategy in Suzuka, which allows the cars to push at the end. This method allows teams to use fresher tires every stint, giving them a speed advantage over cars with older tires.
Russel decided to go against the flow and opt for a one-stop strategy. This move exposed him to attacks from cars on fresher tyres. Despite this, Russell believed that the one-stop strategy was the better option as far as Mercedes was concerned.
However, this strategy did not work out as expected. Russell found himself on old tires and under pressure from other drivers, including team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Despite the challenges, Russell acknowledged that it was the right decision and that it was worth the risk.
In the end, Mercedes’ failure and Max Verstappen’s victory was enough to seal Red Bull’s sixth constructors’ championship title at the end of the 2023 Japanese GP.
