by VALERIO BARRETTA
Mercedes, the climb is not over
From Monte Carlo onwards also the Mercedes has “enrolled” in this F1 championship. After an anonymous first part of the season and struggling with the usual problems of understanding the car, the introduction of a new front wing was the beginning of a path of performance growth that had beneficial effects on other areas of the car. And, above all, it led to victories: not only lucky ones, like the one at the Red Bull Ring, but also deserved ones (Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps).
What can Mercedes hope for in this second part of the season? Very difficult to say. Team principal Toto Wolff, after Silverstone, said aiming for the World Championship is unlikely, and the mathematics confirms this even after the triumph in Spa (Lewis Hamilton is 127 points behind Max Verstappen). For Andrew Shovlin the topic is not just about numbers but also about performance.
Shovlin’s words
“The weak points in hot conditions are the rear limited circuits, where we are not as good as McLaren or Max. We saw it in Budapest and Austria. Our difference in race pace in Budapest was smaller, so we made progress in these last races. If you look at Silverstone, however, we were competitive.“, these are the words of the head of Mercedes track engineering.
In short, a lot also depends on the development on the W15: “Everyone is trying to develop their cars. If you don’t do it at a faster pace than everyone else, you’re going backwards. We can only see a month or six weeks into the future, because that’s the horizon we work with in the wind tunnel.“. There would be time for further growth, because after the break come Zandvoort (front limited) and Monza, which instead presents a good balance. In Baku, however, the problems mentioned by Shovlin could recur.
Regarding the front wing impact in Monaco, Shovlin added: “It was planned for later in the season. We had one on George’s car, and you could tell we had a car that we could definitely work on and improve. Since then we’ve seen an impressive array of new features on every track. At the start of the year we had a car that changed a lot with relatively small changes in track conditions. As you work out the handling issues with the car, it becomes easier.“.
#Mercedes #Shovlin #level #Max #McLaren
