"They are just lost with the car": Why Mercedes had a poor weekend at the 2023 F1 Miami GP

F1 pundit Mark Hughes believes Mercedes are just 'lost' with their 2023 challenger, the W14. Both, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled in qualifying trim but did better in race conditions at the Miami GP last weekend.

Lewis Hamilton was unable to get to grips with his W14 in qualifying, leading to a Q2 elimination for the seven-time world champion. Russell, meanwhile, made it to the final qualifying round but was unable to impress. The former Williams driver struggled with the balance of the car and also with sudden vibrations going through his steering wheel.

However, Russell managed a P4 finish in the main race, while his teammate Hamilton finished P6. The Mercedes drivers fared better than Ferrari, who looked to be in better shape in qualifying conditions.

Speaking about Mercedes on the Race podcast, Mark Hughes said:

"There are just lost with this car. They have a big update coming next race at Imola. Different front suspension and new bodywork. And they hope that that's going to enlighten them a little bit."

He added:

"The things that they expected of the car as they buildup a picture of it from one track to the next over the season. It just doesn't play out that way. We saw this last year with the W13 as well. You'd have a race where it looked okay and then you go to a different track and it just didn't perform."

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Mercedes' George Russell on Red Bull's pace in Miami

George Russell is not surprised by the dominant performance of Red Bull Racing at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. Despite starting the race in ninth place, reigning world champion Max Verstappen comfortably won the race, with teammate Sergio Perez finishing in second.

Meanwhile, Mercedes' Russell managed to outdo his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the qualifying round. He displayed a decent pace during the 57-lap race, finishing in fourth place behind the two Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.

However, Russell remains skeptical about Red Bull's actual pace, given the lack of competition from the rest of the grid at the moment. The RB19 has emerged as the fastest car on the grid by a significant margin and has won all races so far in 2023.

The Mercedes driver said:

“I wasn’t really surprised, no. That’s where they are at the minute, we said at the start of the season, they’re so far ahead, they’ve got it easy at the moment. I wonder if they’re even running full power.”

He added:

“It’s a bit of a shame for the sport but kudos to them for the good work they’ve clearly done, and shown what it’s possible when you get it right. That’s what we’re gonna be chasing, let’s see what we can achieve.”

With Mercedes reportedly making huge changes to their car at the Emilia Romagna GP, it will be interesting to see how the team performs.