Mercedes saw problems coming: 'We had the same at Zandvoort'

The defeat during the United States Grand Prix is no reason for Mercedes to panic. The team sees the race as an encouragement to perform better in the final stage of the season and wants to put Red Bull under pressure again in Mexico.

"We can look not only at this weekend but also at the past few weekends," says Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin on Motorsport-Total.com. "Max beat us, but I don't think it was an easy win for him. We forced Red Bull to take risks."

"The pace we showed in Turkey and Sochi, especially the race pace, was clearly better than their pace in Austin. We can put them under pressure even if we obviously don't have the fastest car," Shovlin continues.

Red Bull has best package in Mexico

According to the Mercedes engineer, Austin was the toughest race in a long time, according to him only Zandvoort felt as tough. "Zandvoort was also one of the circuits where we had problems with the rear. Because of this experience, we were a bit worried because we knew that this circuit is also one where the tyres overheat."

"We know what we need to change about the car and how to make the tyres work well. In the past, the circuit suited Red Bull and Honda well, but we need to focus to get a car that performs optimally. If we can put them under pressure like that again, that would be the best possible scenario," ends Shovlin.