F1 pundit explains why Mercedes had 'an air of encouragement' around an otherwise routinely mundane result and performance

F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm has claimed that Mercedes have understood the fundamentals about the W15 despite a 'disappointing' result at the Japanese GP last weekend.

The German team finished the Japanese GP in P7 and P9 with George Russell finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the main race. They had initially decided to go with a one-stop for both drivers but quickly changed their minds due to the tire degradation at the Suzuka International Circuit.

While appearing on The Race, Mitchell-Malm claimed that Mercedes have a better understanding of their career despite the result in Suzuka not reflecting that fact. He said:

"They feel that now they have established where the car is, that's not good with the car being fourth-fastest is not good for a team of Mercedes's size, resources, and ambitions. But what they were looking for from this weekend was more of an accurate reference.

"They feel like that's what they have a better understanding of. They need more than one race to actually get a convincing sample set to underline that and prove they can add performance where they need it. But that's why there is an air of encouragement around an otherwise routinely mundane result and performance'."

Mercedes team boss reflects on the Japanese GP weekend

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that they are 'live testing' the W15 in the races to get a better understanding for the rest of the season.

Speaking with F1.com, the Austrian said:

“It is live testing now for us. We’ve been on the back foot and besides our issues for two seasons, and now we’ve taken a different direction and I think this is happening.

When asked if the Brackley-based outfit had gotten a better understanding after 53 laps in Suzuka, Wolff replied:

"Much better, definitely much better. Lots more data to point us in the right direction, even if it’s not reflected in the result. The experiments have worked. I think we have a clear direction."

It will be interesting to see if the former world champions can showcase their enhancements at the Shanghai International Circuit in a couple of weeks, a place they won in 2019 when F1 last raced there.

The German team needs to kickstart their season sooner rather than later as they might find themselves slipping behind McLaren in the constructor's championship in the battle for third. Mercedes are currently 35 points behind the Woking-based team in fourth and only a point ahead of Aston Martin.