F1 News
Martin Brundle diagnoses Mercedes mistakes in Singapore
Mercedes rarely get it wrong but when they do, they get scrutinised. In his latest column, Martin Brundle draws attention to the Mercedes mistakes during the Singapore Grand Prix which yielded the first podium without Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas since the double-DNF in Germany.
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari 1-2, giving the German his first Formula 1 victory since the 2018 Belgium Grand Prix. Brundle was quick to pile on the praise to both Vettel and Charles Leclerc.
But the majority of Brundle's report focuses on the mistakes and blunders made by the team at the top of the Formula 1 world championship. The Sky Sports commentator and pundit believes the Silver Arrows strategy was too risky.
"If Mercedes played a blinder to win the Hungarian GP they got this one wrong to finish with both cars off the podium altogether. They failed to pit early enough and basically took two risks with Hamilton which were out of their direct control," Brundle said on the Sky Sports website.
"Firstly, that the Ferraris and Verstappen would get held up in traffic after their stops, and secondly that the same gang would run out of tyres before the end of the race. Three tyre-saving safety car periods put paid to that hope."
A Mercedes car has won just once in the last five races, with Ferrari stringing a hatrick of wins together following the summer break. Brundle suggests Mercedes are starting to feel the pressure of Ferrari's engine power.
"This is the first time Merc have been consistently under pressure in the hybrid era which commenced in 2014. Ferrari's engine power is getting them out front and generating the ability to control races on any type of circuit layout. Mercedes had the pace to win Monza and Singapore but couldn't deploy it, which is reassuring for them in that respect. What a battle this would have been if Ferrari had converted chances earlier in the season," Brundle added.