While the Bahrain Grand Prix took place and George Russell ran secondly, the messages came slowly to his radio that different systems failed. Team director Toto Wolff simply said it: “The car was injured.”
The Mercedes driver suddenly suffered a wire brake failure, and it took time to find the parameters to reset the system, Wolff said. He lost the GPS and he experienced on board Drag reduction system (DRS), which led his racing engineer to tell him on the radio when he could use the system.
The fear was born that the Briton “loses the whole dashboard – which would have noted any buttons, no way to turn the parameters,” added Wolff. While sailing in the last passage on the soft tire for more than 20 laps and keeping an booming Lando Norris behind him, not once losing his concentration. But Russell succeeded in the feat.
Sunday’s race could have been Russell’s largest formula to date, a performance that Wolff has described as “an incredible journey” for journalists. And although he faced an investigation after the race for an alleged violation of the DRS, the commissioners found that he had not won any sporting advantage, which means that Russell kept his second place – a crucial transport in a season when Mercedes does not expect to be in the running for the championships.
But each millisecond, each punctual gain, is important when the margins are also thin throughout the grid. As Wolff said to Sky Sports, “I think it was the driver who saved the result today.”
What happened to Russell’s car?
Russell admitted during the press conference after the race he was happy to see the checkered flag. The Briton had essentially led in the dark (without puns, since the GP of Bahrain is a night race).
The Mercedes driver overcome the initial reverse of the fall of the grid at a place in the qualification and exceeded Charles Leclerc at the start, stopping second throughout the race. He was not questioned before the last steps while Norris sailed in the Ferrari and began to fill the gap with Russell, while while Russell experienced a multitude of problems in his car.
Everything may have seemed well outside, but internally, a series of failures took place.
“He felt under control for a moment, then suddenly, we had a brake failure by wire. So, suddenly, the pedal was going for a long time, then it was going to short,” said Russell, which means that he had to push the shorter or shorter pedal than normal to obtain a braking action.
“I didn’t know what was going on. The steering wheel did not work properly, so it was really difficult to keep Lando behind. I think that more, he would have had enough comfortably.”
One wire brake failure is essentially when the electronic system that controls the rear brakes fails. When it works badly, the brakes are carried out manually by the driver rather than browsing a system, which can make it more difficult to control the car under braking. Wolff compared it when the power steering system fails in a road car, and “imagine that you have to adjust yourself between a corner forward and the following does not before”.
“It was just a very good competence,” he said.
Well said, boss 😤 The best things in life are never easy! ✊ pic.twitter.com/adovtbk0h1
– Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team (@ Mercedesamgf1) April 13, 2025
Then there was the GPS problem. Russell suddenly disappeared from synchronization screens shortly after the security car period, a clear sign that something was wrong. His transponder has stopped working, and not having this GPS data affected the way he could use the DR. Without the data, it has become more difficult to judge the gaps – not only for its part compared to other cars, but also for those around it, like Norris.
According to Wolff, DRS Beacon failed, which meant that Russell had to open the system manually. He tried “a replacement against the DRS,” said Russell, adding: “On a tower, I clicked on the radio button and the DRS opened, so I closed it again, remote – nothing has won.
“I lost more than what I won, it was only open for a fraction of a second, so in a way, shows you the amount of problems we had.”
The commissioners investigated the alleged violation of the DRS, and they said: “The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to problems with a synchronization loop provided by an external part.” Manual activation has been authorized.
“At the time, the driver experienced a wire brake problem and other electronic problems,” the commissioners said. “It was at the time advisable to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a backup radio button but also serves as a manual activation button.”
The commissioners confirmed what Russell had shared – that when he tried to use team radio, the DR was “accidentally activated” when navigation on one of the straight lines. According to the stewards, telemetry confirmed the following: “The DRs were activated over a distance of 37 meters by a right of about 700 meters. While he won 0.02 seconds, he abandoned 0.28 seconds in the next corner to compensate. ”
To be clear, it is a violation of sports regulations; However, no sporting advantage has been obtained, so no penalty has been imposed on Russell or Mercedes.
All this happened while finishing the race and holding a McLaren, probably the fastest car of the grid so far this season, while being on soft tires. Russell shared with Sky Sports how he had no data on his steering wheel during the final passage, making it a compromised race.
“I’m not sure how it worked,” said Russell. “I saw Charles behind me on the hard and I saw 24 laps to do. I said to myself, “Jeez, how are the hell are we going to do this?” But we did it.
Russell may have been able to withdraw this road, putting it less than six points from Max Verstappen in the driver’s ranking, but why these problems proved unknown to Mercedes immediately after the race.
“We do not know, probably wiring professions in the car or anything else,” said Wolff. “Maybe it was triggered by the failure of the F1 system, then it made the bananas pass.”
Russell Boigné at home with a second place (Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
What does the result for the Mercedes season mean?
McLaren may dominate this season, Oscar Piastri embarking a second victory and Norris having one of his family, but Mercedes was constantly at the front, Russell sometimes being the closest challenger, as Sunday.
Through four races – all different types of tracks – Russell obtained three podiums, bringing the third home to Australia and China. This type of performance is sufficient to strengthen confidence in a team, especially after the difficult stretch Mercedes has attempted consistency in current regulations.
“It was the real test for us. We knew that our car loved the cold conditions, and the competitiveness we showed in China and Suzuka was not a big surprise,” said Russell. “But it was going to be the question mark – here in Bahrain. And we had another strong weekend. So, it augurs well for the season.”
The Briton said Mercedes did not plan to be close to McLaren in Bahrain, on a track where many expected the team based in Woking Prosperous. But then Russell qualified in second position and his teammate Kimi Antonelli fourth, before the grid in a place fell, and Russell said: “The qualification in the front row was a real surprise.
“And then see Lando up there on the first round behind me, I said to myself:” He will fly away here. Oscar did an incredible job to control the race, but to keep Lando at a distance, I was really, really happy. »»
Mercedes is 58 points from McLaren in the manufacturer’s ranking, thanks to the finish of the Russell podium. When he was asked if McLaren was capable, Wolff shared that he thought that the team was missing “a few tenths” on Sunday and wanted to see how future tracks were taking place. He pointed out the way the tide turned last season, McLaren having a large momentum several races after finishing sixth and eighth in Bahrain.
But when Russell asked Russell if the arrows of money were contenders for the title, he warned against suggestion.
“I would love to say it, but I don’t think we are, to be honest. McLaren is simply too dominant at the moment. I think it will probably be their peak performance – what we have seen this week in Bahrain,” said the 27 -year -old. “And what we saw in China and Suzuka is probably their worst scenario and they have always obtained a victory for these two races.”
Russell added the importance of capitalizing on times and collecting points when possible, as they did in Australia and Bahrain.
When the battles are also close, to be in the right place at the right time is crucial. We have seen it with Mercedes, as well as the battles in the midfield, so far this season.
“I don’t expect this to continue for many races to come,” said Russell, “but who knows.”
Additional reports: Luke Smith
(Top Photo: Clive Rose / Getty Images)