Mercedes’ woes at not even bei🙈ng the team to “pick up scraps” from Red Bull have been debated.

A rare off-day from F1’s dominant team last weekend at th🐬e Miami Grand Prix enabled McLaren’s Lando Norris to win his first-ever race.

Le♌wis Hami♓lton finished sixth, and George Russell eighth, behind a McLaren, two Ferraris and two Red Bulls.

“They are going to be looking at McLaren’s step forward,” F1 Explain𒅌s podcast presenter Christian Hewgill told the F1 Nation podcast.

“You’ve got to pick up on scraps when you’re in a🔯n era of Red Bull domination.

“♕The scrap was: that Red Bull was tricky on 💮its balance.

“McLaren s🧸wooped in and picked up that s𝓀crap. [Mercedes] want that to be them…

“They are no🐽t💞 even behind the people who are picking up the scraps!

“I still think they will go away and say: ‘Two cars into Q3, bit more solidly into the poi𒊎nts, but we’re not on the podium o൲r winning’.

“I sense a real air of dis🍨appointment around that team this season.

“Every year we co🃏me into preseason testing and thiꦐnk ‘they will roar back’ but it doesn’t happen.”

The W15 - which proꦇmised much as a step forward☂ compared to the bleak cars of the past two years - has not yet delivered.

“George and Lewis have said in the past it is even inconsistent lap to lap,” Hewgil⛄l continu🍸ed.

“How it handles into one particular turn, at one particular track, can differ fr🧜om one lap to the next.

“They seem uᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚnable to get to grips with it consistently. The🐲y will be disappointed.”

Hamilton’s weekend was most notable for 𒉰a battle with Haas’ Kevin Mag♈nussen.

Magnussen’s ad🅘mission that he was driving tactically to help his teammate score points drew a respectful reaction from Hamilton.

“They 𓆉are often nice to each other in this paddock but I enjoyed them going at it hammer and tong,” Hewgill said.

“We’re in an era whereܫ sometimes it’s best t﷽o let someone overtake you as it’s best not to ruin your tyres.

“So ܫit was fantastic to see them battling. I enjoyed seeing Lewis do that.”

F1.com Editor Greg Stuart said:🐼 “I don’t th𒉰ink the team would deny that it was an off-colour performance. George used the word ‘rubbish’.

“What Lewis loves doing is dominating a race from the🌞 front and showing ev🎉eryone that he’s the GOAT, he’s the best.

“Bu🔯t he also loves telling stories of karting of having the cheapest, used tyres and beating rivals. He loved that.

“He loved battling Nico Hulkenberg. At Turn 11 he was like ‘we will ei𒁏ther have an aircraft-style crash or I will get by…’

“He enjoyed Kevin Magnussen’s𝄹 integr✃ity too, of admitting he played a tactical game.

“Lewis wa🦹nts to win championships and races but he was loving the si♉tuation he was in.”