When George Russell and Lewis Hamilton put their W13s on the top two steps of the podium at the Brazilian GP last year, the Brackley outfit decided to stick with their zero-pod design approach. This would ultimately leave them cursing the W14 a year later, still being plagued by the design concept so unique to the other teams.

First, they struggled with setting up the car for the Sprint Race, which resulted in Lewis Hamilton dropping like a stone once his tires wore out, which was rapid! Hamilton was vocal about the W14 and the tyre management struggles giving him a headache on Saturday. And unfortunately, he might have predicted Sunday’s outcome too!

Lewis Hamilton just can’t catch a break at the Brazilian GP

While the honorary Brazilian was hoping to put it on the podium once again this weekend, the W14 proved to be no match for a charging Fernando Alonso, who swooped past Hamilton to slot his AMR23 into third. The Mercedes man’s struggles had just started, with tire degradation plaguing him for the rest of the race. He reflected on the radio, “I don’t know if it’s gusty but the car is so bad in the air”

Due to the short practice time to fine-tune setups, the W14’s pace and balance were nothing like they had been in Qatar and the US GP. Earlier, Hamilton had shared, “Yeah it was horrible it was not enjoyable what so ever, had a good start and then after that I just struggled with the balance. Lot of understeer then snap oversteer and just fighting the car from very early on and then I had no tyres in the end. And I Don’t really know how I am going to fix that for tomorrow.”

The seven-time world champion was realistic with the LH Army about his chances of winning, “It’s gonna be a long afternoon tomorrow, that’s for sure. I think, I can only assume I’ve got the setup wrong, and it is what it is. I’ll fight as hard as I can tomorrow, but we won’t be winning that’s for sure. I’ll just see if I can manage the tires better” – while the Briton was certain he would not win, the set-up on Sunday snatched away all hopes he had of managing the tires better!

READ MORE: As Cold War Against Lewis Hamilton Turns Sour, George Russell Gets “Passive-Aggressive” With Toto Wolff & Co.

With Lewis Hamilton’s weekend unfolding by the minute, the case was similar for George Russell. However, there might be a lengthy conversation between the two. Hamilton’s diminishing pace may have cost Russell more than he had bargained for!

Did Mercedes favor Lewis Hamilton over George Russell?

When the race resumed after the red flag, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell formed a DRS train of sorts, bunching the field up behind them. Although Hamilton was ahead of his teammate, Russell had requested the team to give him assistance by making Hamilton remain within DRS range. However, the younger Briton was left frustrated when Sergio Perez overtook him due to Hamilton’s woes, sharing on the radio, “Are we working together here or we just doing our own race?”

Adding to Russell’s misery, the engineers kept requesting him to manage his tires due to the awful setup. But the No.63 driver was having none of it, “You want me to race or concede positions? With more management, I will go backwards.” – the team orders at Mercedes were coming to haunt the drivers once again.

It did not help Russell that Mercedes chose to pit Hamilton only after Carlos Sainz was well ahead of both Russell and Hamilton. His weekend kept unfolding until Mercedes decided to retire the car, ending in heartbreak. The reason was revealed to be the rising oil temperature in the Power Unit, compromising its reliability.

WATCH THIS STORY | Will Lewis Hamilton Consider a Move to Ferrari if Mercedes Doesn’t Deliver?

With the recent troubles that the Brackley outfit has been facing, it’s not looking good for Toto Wolff and Co. Everything that could have gone wrong for Mercedes at the Brazilian GP, did indeed go wrong, not the prediction Lewis Hamilton wanted to make!