Antonelli takes second in Malaysia as Russell's suspected power unit failure costs Mercedes

“Given our difficulties this weekend, I think second place is the maximum we could achieve today. The conditions were really challenging: first we had to decide which tyres to start on, then we had to pick the right moment to switch to slicks and afterwards choose the right compound again to secure second place. The team made those decisions well, and I am happy we could score solid points. Even so, we leave Malaysia frustrated. Our pace was not what we wanted, and we could not fight for the win. It was also extremely disappointing that George retired when we were close to a good result for the team, a double podium at one of the most important races of our season. Before Singapore we will work hard to find out how we can improve and make sure we show a stronger performance next weekend.”

“It was another hard and disappointing day for me — like so many this season. It is pure bad luck, but it still hurts. What is especially bitter is that we were on course for a podium and a great result for the team. I had a great start on the intermediate tyres but struggled a bit when we switched to the medium tyres. With the soft tyres I felt much better straight away. Although we were never in the fight for the win, our pace was good. It is a real shame we retired while running well in third. Those would have been important points for the constructors' championship, and a double podium would have been a nice reward for our title and technical partner PETRONAS at its home race. It was not an easy weekend, but our race pace was better than our qualifying performance on Saturday. That is encouraging. We will work hard as a team to understand why we fell short of expectations here in Malaysia and make sure we are stronger in Singapore. It has been a hard season for me so far, but we will keep fighting.”

“This was the worst weekend of the season for us. It hurts, and I am incredibly sad for George and everyone in the team. George drove an excellent race and was on course for a very strong result, but we let him down. The reality is that this has happened to us too often this year — and that is not acceptable. In Malaysia we were neither fast enough nor reliable enough. That is the truth. Both drivers, however, kept fighting, stayed focused and got the maximum out of the car. While George retired through no fault of his own, Kimi did very good work and earned his podium place. Now we have to analyse exactly what happened this weekend. Compared with our direct competitors and our form in recent races, we fell short of our potential. We will approach this with our usual focus, working hard and letting the data guide us. There are not many days left until we are back on track, but we are determined to show a better performance next week in Singapore.”

“Today's race was difficult to manage, especially in the early phase. With the changing conditions we had to make several important decisions about tyre choice and when to pit. The team made the right calls all afternoon, which got the best out of Kimi's race and secured him a well-deserved podium. He drove a mature and controlled race and got everything out of it that was possible. For George it is incredibly frustrating. He drove a strong race, handled the conditions well and seemed on course for a safe podium until his retirement. Losing a result like that is painful — especially considering how much bad luck he has had this season so far. We can take some positives from today's race, but we were not quick enough to fight for the win in the Grand Prix. We have a lot of data to evaluate and very little time before we are back on track in Singapore. Our focus now is on understanding the factors that contributed to our performance this weekend and finding out where we can improve. Singapore presents a completely different challenge, and our job over the next few days is to make sure we are better prepared and more competitive there.”