Mercedes may have picked up their 11th win and eighth one-two of the year at the Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix 2019 last Sunday. 

But if you had thought that the race was yet another dominant Mercedes performance, then you could be further from the truth – according to Formula 1 Managing Director, Motorsport, Ross Brawn.

Sebastian Vettel’s retirement and a Virtual Safety Car

With Charles Leclerc starting from pole, Ferrari were comfortable and leading in the early stages of the race, but then on Lap 26, Sebastian Vettel was forced to pull over at the side of the track due to the failure of his MGU-K. 

A virtual safety car was then deployed and Mercedes grabbed the opportunity for a free pit stop, a lucky break which was the catalyst to Lewis Hamilton winning in Sochi.

Says Brawn, “Mercedes might not have been able to stop Ferrari taking a fourth straight win, if not for the gift of the virtual safety car that was brought into effect.”

“The MGU-K failure on Vettel’s car was the key not just because it put him out of the race, but also because it came at the only moment when Leclerc was vulnerable, following his pit-stop, and prior to either Mercedes driver doing likewise,” Brawn continued.

After losing track position, Leclerc was not able to go for the win, being unable to get past Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who did a great job in denying him any chances of making a late charge.

Testy radio chatter in the Ferrari camp

Prior to his car failure, Vettel had also appeared to ignore a pre-arranged team order to give the race lead back to Leclerc after a gap to Mercedes had been carved, which had put Ferrari in a comfortable position.

Says Brawn, “The mid-race implosion was not the only talking point for Ferrari; the tow Leclerc provided to Vettel after the start and the testy radio chatter that went on between Leclerc and his pit-wall for some time, also made headlines.”

As well, the Silver Arrows had started the race on Medium compound tyres instead of soft ones, because, in terms of speed, in qualifying and for a long run, Ferrari had the upper hand.

So the Championship leaders realised they had to try something different to break Ferrari’s winning streak, and together with the lucky break that they had been given, their tactic had worked.

Issues to sort out for the Prancing Horse

Brawn feels that Ferrari may have made a lot of progress in recent weeks, but there appear to be still issues to sort out in time for the Japanese Grand Prix – in terms of the balance and rivalry between their drivers. 

After all, with both a four-time world champion and a rapidly rising youngster on Ferrari’s hands, this is an explosive combination and needs to be carefully handled, in order to work.