At Suzuka, Mercedes endured another disappointing weekend, in which George Russell finished seventh and Lewis Hamilton ninth – reversing their respective qualifying positions in a train behind Fernando Alonso.
According to team boss Wolff, Mercedes' rough qualifying was compounded by an "atrocious" first stint as the Silver Arrows initially attempted a bold one-stopper, which unlike Ferrari's Charles Leclerc they had to abandon in favour of a more conventional two-stop race.
