For although a scrappy race from George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ultimately meant the chances of a victory from pole position slipped through its grasp, a deeper dive of its weekend pace has prompted the competition to reappraise where it sees Mercedes in the pecking order.
As McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted, Mercedes is now delivering a car that in dry conditions at least appears to be out of touch for anything his squad can do at certain points of race weekends.
