“We had an atrocious first stint”: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reflects on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s Japanese GP performance

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff discussed Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's struggles during the 2024 F1 Japanese Grand Prix.

During the race in Suzuka, both Mercedes drivers were mainly fighting against McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Though Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were also behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell after their pitstops, they were quick enough to easily pass the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton ended the race in P9, while Russell managed to overtake Piastri on the last lap to secure P7.

Speaking on F1TV after the race, Wolff was disappointed with the team's poor first race stint. He mentioned that the race was somewhat of a live testing session for the Brackley-based team since they took a different approach at the end of 2023 after struggling for two seasons.

“We had an atrocious first stint which we need to analyse why. Very good second and third stints – and that’s the positive we take from the race. It is live testing now for us, we’ve been on the back foot for two seasons and now we’ve taken a different direction and this is happening,” Wolff told F1TV

After the Japanese GP, Mercedes remained in fourth place in the 2024 F1 constructors' championship with only 34 points. McLaren were ahead of them in third place with 69 points.

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Lewis Hamilton delighted with how the Mercedes W15 felt during the 2024 F1 Japanese GP

Lewis Hamilton was delighted with the Mercedes W15 during the Japanese GP. Speaking to the on-site media after qualifying, he stated how he felt great driving the car and was generally happy despite securing P7 for the race. He explained how streamlined his approach to the weekend was where he made usual changes rather than trying out unconventional tactics to unlock performance.

“This is the nicest it's felt over the last three years. I think last year, we were over a second off, we're doing over seven-tenths today. Also this weekend I'm not like trying all these different random things. So I've been just much more focused on making sensible changes. I think it's worked. I was hoping it would be further ahead,” Hamilton said (via Sportkseeda).

At the 2024 F1 Japanese GP, Lewis Hamilton lost a few places and ended up in P9. He even switched positions with George Russell during the race since the latter was faster on hard tires.

After the race at Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton stands in ninth place with only 10 points in the drivers' championship table.