Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta explained that the team needs to fix the deployment issues that once again hurt George Russell at the start of the race in Mexico City.

Resta began by praising his compatriot Antonelli, who became the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari won his second F1 title in 1953. He said in the Akkodis Debrief of Mercedes: "We really feel great in the team and Kimi has achieved an incredible result, becoming a World Champion, just at 20 years old. After so many years of Italian drivers not being able to achieve that result, it's been great. He has achieved that in his second year in F1, second year with the team, and it's been really impressive. This just shows not only the raw speed, he has got it without a doubt, but also the consistency and the maturity he has shown all through the season."

Meanwhile, Russell once again experienced difficulties after the start in Mexico. Resta echoed Toto Wolff's view that the Briton had been let down last Sunday and highlighted the importance of fixing the issue.

He continued: "George had a deployment issue in the main straight before Turn 1 and that put him in a bad position for the following corners. And that, combined with a penalty he got for the contact with Hadjar, actually really put him on the back foot for the remaining part of the race. But George was able to remain calm and push with a strong pace and was able, at the end, to achieve a P6 position. We really need to sort out these problems for the future. We let George down and he really deserves to have a chance to fight for a much higher position at the end."

Despite Antonelli clinching this year's drivers' title, Resta explained that Mercedes will not rest on its laurels. "We have said from the beginning of the season that you could expect a lot of changes on a race-by-race basis, mainly depending on team's development, but also about different performance of the cars at different tracks. We don't take anything for granted and we'll approach our decisions trying to maximize our performance in every event. And there's a lot of learning we can take from both Austin and Mexico. That's part of our process."

If the team outscores Ferrari by three points in Brazil, the constructors' title would also be clinched by Mercedes. "The objective is clear for the team, we really need to maximize our points and our results to win the Constructors' Championship. We are all focused on it and we will do our best to achieve it next weekend," Resta concluded.

Mercedes has new race suits ready for Sao Paulo

Mercedes drivers Antonelli and Russell will have a different race suit for Interlagos. "Inspired by the past, built for the new," the drivers explained the team's concept for the purple design created together with team sponsor Nu.