Mercedes were the surprise package of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, after managing to secure an unlikely one-two under the Nevadan lights.
Fourth fastest, and marginally worse at times since the summer break, they have been playing catch up with their rivals at the top of the pack since winning the Belgian Grand Prix.
It was around that time that both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell appeared to be regular contenders for victories again, but it didn’t quite materialise.
However, the perfect storm brewed last weekend to allow them to return to the top, and in quite dominant fashion too.
Mercedes had ‘key’ low temperature and grip advantage in Las Vegas
While Mercedes appeared to be vulnerable at the start of the race as expected, coming under fire from Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari momentarily, their attack was futile.
Before long, Russell accelerated into the distance and never looked back, managing all systems as his teammate attempted to right the wrongs of a poor qualifying performance.
Hamilton was ‘mega’ in Vegas and believed he could have won with a better qualifying lap, and the pace he showed during the race hushed any critics of recent weeks who said he had lost his edge.
READ MORE: Martin Brundle thinks Lewis Hamilton will be smiling after what Ferrari did at the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Speaking in a video for The Race YouTube channel, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm shared why the Silver Arrows were so impressive on the west coast of America.
“But as it turned out, the key advantage Mercedes had in qualifying, turned out to be a massively potent weapon in the race, just for a very different reason,” he said. “Very low temperatures inevitably lead to low track grip.
“There were low downforce wings for the super long run down the Vegas strip and very high mandated minimum tyre pressures imposed by Pirelli to deal with that combination.”
Is there any chance of Mercedes repeating this in the final two races?
The final two races of the season will see Formula 1 round out the year in the Middle East, with both the Qatar Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
With both races pretty much being held in the desert, it shouldn’t favour a Mercedes car which prefers higher tyre temperatures and much cooler conditions.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them back to being fourth-fastest, behind McLaren and Red Bull after their dominant Vegas showing.
READ MORE: Martin Brundle stunned by what Charles Leclerc did at the Las Vegas Grand Prix that ‘ruined’ his race
Although both are night races, it should still be around 25 degrees Celcius, enough to help their rivals out in terms of tyre warm-up a little more.
They’ll be desperate to give Hamilton the send-off he deserves, as the two end their partnership together after 12 magnificent seasons together.
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