David Croft spots Mercedes issue that doesn’t ‘bode well’ for Saudi Arabia GP

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Mercedes may struggle with overheating during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend, Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has warned.

The Silver Arrows sit third in the constructors’ standings after amassing 16 points in Saturday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

But Croft says the cooling issues they experienced during the race in Sakhir are a bad sign heading into the second leg of the double-header.

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were told to lift off the throttle and coast into the corners more than usual.

Croft sends warning to Mercedes ahead of Saudi Arabian GP

It was actually considerably colder than the teams are used to at the first event of the campaign, with temperatures in the mid-to-high teens rather than low-to-mid 30s.

It’s expected to be around 24 degrees when the lights to go out at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday for the second successive night race.

Speaking live on Sky Sports F1 during the race, Croft said it was worrying the W15 was getting too hot even in relatively mild weather.

He said: “It’s not going to bode well when we get to the hotter climbs of Jeddah this time next week.”

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will want more from Mercedes after Bahrain

Russell showed a glimpse of the potential of the Mercedes in qualifying when he took third place on the grid behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

The British driver climbed up to second after passing Leclerc in the early stages of the race, but ultimately had to settle for fifth after Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz got through and he surrendered his spot to Leclerc by running wide.

Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle thinks Russell will be ‘disappointed’ by the pace of his car, as will team-mate Hamilton.

Hamilton qualified down in ninth but was able to execute moves on Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri to finish seventh.