Mercedes cautious about predicting Las Vegas success despite last year’s domination
Mercedes heads to Las Vegas with a solid 32-point lead over Red Bull in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship as the season enters its final three races.
Despite dominating last year’s Vegas event, the team isn’t making any bold predictions this time around.
“I think it’s very difficult to have a proper expectation of performance,” admits Simone Resta, Mercedes’ Deputy Technical Director, in a recent team YouTube video.
The unique Las Vegas Strip circuit presents some challenging conditions. Racing at night means temperatures drop dramatically, creating a totally different environment compared to daytime events.
Last year, George Russell owned the Vegas night, taking a commanding victory while Lewis Hamilton charged from 10th on the grid to finish second.
But past success doesn’t guarantee a repeat performance.
“If you look at last year and this year, we won in all different races between last year and this year,” Resta explained.
He’s keeping expectations in check while maintaining the team’s fighting spirit.
“It’s quite difficult to draw a direct guess between how we were last year and how it’s going to be this year,” he said. “We are going as motivated as ever into these races. We’re trying to prepare ourselves in the best way. The drivers, they are both quite positive and we’ll try to maximise our performance.”
## Antonelli finding his groove
Meanwhile, rookie Kimi Antonelli is hitting his stride after a challenging stretch.
The young Italian made an immediate impact with a podium finish in Canada early in his F1 career, but struggled to match that form during the European leg of the season.
Things are looking up now. Antonelli secured a solid sixth place in Mexico before an impressive second-place finish in Brazil last time out.
That’s exactly the kind of momentum Mercedes needs heading into the crucial final races of the season.
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