News
Mercedes sticks to F1 upgrade plan for Monaco GP
The German manufacturer was due to debut a major revamp of its W14 at this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
However, extreme weather conditions that led to the cancellation of the Imola race meant that the chance to play the opening round on the more traditional track has now been lost.
Imola’s cancellation could prompt Mercedes to rethink its plans, as the next race in Monaco is far from perfect for bringing major new parts.
There is a greater risk of accidents on street tracks that could damage any new components early on, and the bumpy layout, low-speed corners and rapidly changing track surfaces make it extremely difficult to gather valuable data on aerodynamic performance.
But even though it made some sense logically for Mercedes to wait until the Spanish GP to introduce the upgrade, it opted to push the new parts into operation as soon as possible.
Several factors are understood to have contributed to its no change of heart.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, arriving on the grid
Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures
The team still believes the upgrades, which include new sidepods, a revised floorpan and a different front suspension, will provide a noticeable boost in performance, so there’s no reason to believe that delaying the introduction will be beneficial.
Furthermore, the team is well aware that one of the things holding Lewis Hamilton and George Russell back this year is a lack of confidence in the car – especially when it comes to the brakes. So with suspension changes specifically aimed at improving this, it also makes sense to make changes at a venue where any gain could pay off handsomely.
Another factor is that it’s actually more work for Mercedes now to restore a car to old spec than a new one. The modified W14 was shipped to Imola and shipped directly to Monaco.
So, if the team chooses to go back to the original scheme, it will be a daunting logistical challenge to back out of the original plan and rebuild everything again for the Monte Carlo weekend.
Russell also had bounce problems in the high-speed corners of Barcelona, which made it harder to drive his Mercedes W14 to the limit, with the Briton reporting he believed he had problems with his tires early in the first quarter.
“The car didn’t feel good every lap of the race,” Russell said when asked by Autosport about the car’s behavior.
“We made some small changes from FP3 to quali, and the car bounced a lot in high-speed corners.
“In the corners that were easy to get flat in practice, I couldn’t get it flat. I couldn’t get the tires to work, everything went wrong. From the first lap in Q1, I knew we weren’t going to have a good day. It was weird .
“We should take advantage of conditions like that, which we usually do. As a team we usually do well when it’s challenging, but today, especially with me, it was different.”
Russell was knocked out in the second period after contact with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and was six-tenths off Max Verstappen’s benchmark time for the stage.
Russell mentioned that Q1 leader Nico Hulkenberg was 1.5 seconds behind to underscore his struggles, adding: “I’ve tried all kinds of outer circles, all kinds of pressure. Probably just getting ourselves a little bit lost and confused.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
Photograph: Sam Bloxham / motorsport pictures
“For those cold, wet, oily conditions, the set-up changes we made in qualifying were definitely going in the wrong direction, which is a shame, especially because I think we have a very fast car. I think in FP2 In , we probably have the second fastest car after the Max, ahead of the Ferraris.
“So not all is lost. Tomorrow we just have to be patient and try to bounce back.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff backed Russell’s downbeat assessment of his weekend, admitting the team had gone the wrong way with his car.
“It was clear from the start that the set direction we were going with George made the car worse,” he said. “I think from the very beginning he was complaining that he didn’t have any grip, he had bounce and the car was understeering before it was oversteering.
“That’s something we need to unwind now to see exactly what we could have done differently.”
Charles Leclerc was disappointed to qualify for the Spanish Grand Prix for the 19th time. The Monaco native is looking forward to what will be a tricky game for him. Leclerc expects tire management and pit stops to play a big role in the race. He told this in a press conference with GPblog and others.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in Spain. Due to Pierre Gasly’s penalty, the Briton could start from fourth. The Mercedes driver suffered a lot from a bouncing car, the Mercedes driver told GPblog and others at a press conference during free practice.
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F1 LIVE | The third free practice for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix
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