Lewis Hamilton & George Russell’s “Unusual” Double DNF Brushed Off by James Allison to Highlight Mercedes’ Real Issue

The Australian Grand Prix was an absolute disaster for Mercedes. The engine of Lewis Hamilton‘s W15 shut off with a snap in Lap 16 of the race. According to the seven-time champion, there were no telling signs of failure coming. This left George Russell on a solo voyage to grab points for the Silver Arrows. But the last lap crash put the team’s hopes to the wall. Despite this rare double DNF, Mercedes Technical Director James Allison is unconcerned about their reliability.

The Brackley outfit stands fourth in the constructors’ championship after the Australian GP. They had a chance to overtake McLaren for third, but a reliability issue cost Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso’s ‘unsafe’ braking threw George Russell’s balance off. But can these problems be called unfortunate if they are seemingly recurring? Contrary to popular belief, James Allison believes that their reliability issues are next to nothing.

“DNFs. thankfully are a very rare thing for us,” Allison said on Mercedes F1’s Post-Race Debrief YouTube video. “We have drivers who are very good at keeping it on the island and reliability, on the whole, is a strong point. So yeah, unusual to have a double DNF like that. It’s certainly not something we expect to punctuate our season.”

He then highlighted their real issue, which has been the lack of pace in the car. “Actually, the thing we are more focused on is the pace. Because if you get the pace sorted out, the season will be okay, whatever happens. The baseline reliability of the car, our procedural approach to it, and the skill of our drivers will tend to keep you clear of DNFs. So all our focus is on pace, knowing that the foundational things are in decent shape.”

While Allison seemed rather okay with the situation, the same can’t be said for Team Principal Toto Wolff.

Toto Wolff helpless after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s “Brutal” Double DNF

Toto Wolff has been answering the same questions for the last 2 years. But none of the team’s methods seem to work out in the end. After the race in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton didn’t even seem dejected. Hamilton just laughed at the team’s misery. Wolff, on the other hand, being the team boss, couldn’t do the same.

“Tough to take, super tough,” Toto Wolff told reporters, as quoted by Reuters. “And I would be lying if I could say I feel positive about the situation and optimistic but you just need to overcome the nagging, negative thoughts and say, ‘We will turn this around’. But today it feels very, very brutal.”

Read More: Mercedes Labeled a “Fourth-Rate Team” as Toto Wolff Loses to Andrea Stella’s “Enlightened” Brilliance

Mercedes’ downward spiral has already forced Lewis Hamilton out of the team. Now it’ll be interesting to see what can they do to ensure George Russell stays for the long haul.