Mercedes: 'We couldn't have done the same as Verstappen'

When asked what Mercedes should have done differently, technical director Andrew Shovlin says the following: "Had a crystal ball perhaps and realised that the hard tyre would have been a better tyre for us! Realistically the options to win the race probably boil down to retaining the lead after the very good start that Lewis made by stopping early – and maybe pitting as early as lap eight."

"But given we were struggling on the mediums on such a short stint, we would have never been brave enough just to hold the lead. It would have felt like we would compromise the whole race", Shovlin says on Motorsport.com.

Mercedes could not have done the same as Red Bull

Shovlin doesn't think an undercut for Mercedes would have worked if Hamilton had been on P2 at the start of the race. "I think we could have gone for an early stop and could have made the finish. But it would have been a case of pulling the trigger earlier and then hoping for the best, seeing if Lewis can keep Max at bay. But really that was the main opportunity", he says.

"But the big question is, could we have kept up? And I am certain we couldn’t have sat on their gearbox in the way that they did to us. When people were pushing hard, the tyres were falling off at an incredible rate." So according to Mercedes, a one-stop was not a possibility either.