Mercedes dominated the Las Vegas Grand Prix with George Russell taking a lights-to-flag victory, while Lewis Hamilton climbed from P10 to make a one-two for the team.
It was the first one-two victory of the year for Mercedes and remarkably their first since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, when Russell also took their sole victory of that season ahead of Hamilton.
Mercedes was mystified over why they were the fastest around the streets of Las Vegas, with the W15 seemingly working well in the cool nighttime conditions.
The team was fastest in every session leading up to the race, starkly contrasting their performance in Sao Paulo which Hamilton branded a ‘disaster’ having suffered from bouncing on the new asphalt surface.
Mercedes has been very inconsistent this year, but chief technical officer James Allison has reason to believe they will be quick in Qatar when speaking on their official Strategy Debrief video.
James Allison expects more ‘Turn 3-type corners’ from Las Vegas in Qatar
One of the key corners Mercedes has identified they were strong at around the street circuit was Turn 3, where both Hamilton and Russell were outliers among the pack.
Turn 3 in Las Vegas is a long and sweeping right-hander that demands a good aero balance in a car, and the Mercedes appears to have that trait.
Allison is hoping that the high-speed nature of the Lusail circuit, which features several sweeping corners that run into each other, will play to Mercedes’s strengths.
“The corner we were mighty in Las Vegas was Turn 3. There is a lot of Turn 3-type corners in Qatar and there isn’t a huge amount of slow stuff so we should be able to get the car in its window. But we’ve been wrong before, so we’re going there cautiously optimistic,” said Allison.
Can Mercedes repeat their Las Vegas feat in final two races?
The final two races of the 2024 F1 season see the championship jetting off to the Middle East for the Qatar Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The circuits shouldn’t really favour the W15 as the Mercedes prefers higher tyre temperatures in much cooler conditions, but track temperatures will likely reach season highs this weekend.
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McLaren and Red Bull are likely to be strong while Ferrari was unexpectedly off the pace in Las Vegas due to the tyre graining, they should bounce back in the final two rounds.
A lot is at stake for the top teams as they are fighting for the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren leading the way from Ferrari by 24 points.
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