Timo Glock outlines the ‘key’ thing Mercedes must do to avoid going back to ‘normality’ in Qatar

Mercedes were the unlikely winners at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as George Russell secured the team’s fourth win of the season in dominant fashion.

The Brit took pole position on Saturday and commanded the race to take his second win of the year. Teammate Lewis Hamilton could only manage 10th in qualifying but he used the pace of the W15 to move up to second – securing Mercedes‘ first one-two since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Mercedes showed great performance throughout the weekend in Las Vegas. Martin Brundle had to take a ‘step back’ after seeing what Hamilton was doing in practice as he displayed great confidence in the car to top both FP1 and FP2.

This was certainly unusual to see – not just from Hamilton but Mercedes in general. The Silver Arrows have struggled to be competitive in the ground effect era and their 2024 campaign has been hampered by inconsistencies.

The Brackley-based outfit have found it difficult to compete with the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari for much of the season. But Mercedes have produced some moments of brilliance in 2024 – the Las Vegas Grand Prix being one of them.

Timo Glock says Mercedes ‘has to understand’ why they were dominant in Las Vegas to avoid ‘normality’ resuming in Qatar

But the result came out of nowhere, considering that it was the team’s first win since Hamilton took victory at the Belgian Grand Prix and Mercedes’ first double podium of the season.

The cold temperatures in Las Vegas will be a sharp contrast to the next race in Qatar, which for Timo Glock, could see Mercedes go back to ‘normality’ and struggle to keep up with their rivals.

For the German, the Silver Arrows ‘have to understand’ why they suddenly found performance in Las Vegas so they can carry that into the final two races and for the 2025 season – the final year under the current technical regulations.

Glock said via Formel1.de: “Mercedes has to understand why they were so dominant here. I think that’s the key and they’ll probably wish that it was cold in Qatar too, but unfortunately, it will not.

“So, I think we’ll be back to a bit of normality there at Mercedes, but basically I think they have collected enough data that you now have to understand why the car works on some race tracks and some conditions and in some it doesn’t.”

George Russell has got the better of Lewis Hamilton in 2024

As the 2024 season heads into its final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Hamilton has endured a difficult farewell campaign at Mercedes.

The seven-time champion will leave for Ferrari in 2025 and has been very vocal about his frustrations with the inconsistent nature of his Mercedes machinery in the ground effect era, in particular this season.

Teammate Russell has been ‘stronger’ than Hamilton in qualifying as he leads the 39-year-old 16-6 in the Mercedes battle and 14-8 in the races.

His dominance in Las Vegas has led many in the paddock to consider Russell as F1’s most underrated driver, with Mercedes putting their faith in the Brit to lead them forward after Hamilton departs for Maranello.