Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin rated the workforce’s tempo via Zandvoort’s high-speed corners as “garbage” and is searching for solutions on its inconsistency between each stints and drivers within the System 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
After a robust begin to the Zandvoort weekend, with George Russell taking pole and victory within the dash race, Mercedes dropped behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, who secured pole and victory within the grand prix.
Whereas Mercedes nonetheless took 2-3 in qualifying and the race, with Kimi Antonelli getting the higher of team-mate Russell within the race to increase his championship result in 59 factors, the workforce was at a loss on why its early tempo didn’t carry via the weekend relative to its primary competitors.
“We have just a few issues on the efficiency aspect to try to dig into,” Shovlin mentioned on Mercedes’ Nu Silver Arrows Radio Present. “We will be getting on with that this week and see what we be taught.
“However there have been just a few corners the place we had been fairly garbage, like that mixture of [Turns] 7, 8, 9. You possibly can see [it in] the faster-speed [curves]. And it additionally offers the tyres on the left-hand aspect of the automobile a tricky time. And we do not actually perceive but totally what’s inflicting that.
“We have some concepts, however that is not an issue that we have suffered with up to now this 12 months. And there is loads of circuits that have gotten type of continued corners in a single path.
“We had been a bit off the tempo within the quickest of these [turns]. After which our issues type of grew a bit as we went via. All the opposite corners look strong.”
James Allison, Mercedes, Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Photos through Getty Photos
What added to Mercedes’ confusion was that minimal modifications had been made to the vehicles between the dash race and grand prix, in addition to through the race itself. Whereas Shovlin accepts a degree of anticipated tempo deviation per tyre compounds and life, seeing every driver endure at completely different instances through the grand prix left Mercedes unsure in regards to the trigger.
“We did not change the automobile. We clearly had completely different compounds at completely different phases. However once more, we have to perceive a bit,” he mentioned.
“George’s first stint was a bit lacklustre in comparison with his later ones. After which with Kimi, first stint was good, after which dropped a bit on the second, dropped a bit extra on the third, a bit got here again on the third. It wasn’t like we had been taking part in round with digital settings or up and down on flap angles. And for him, the stability of the automobile was fairly completely different stint on stint.
“The 2 drivers, usually they report comparable issues with a automobile on the finish of the race. Each of them, their notion of the stability, and doubtless the truth is George had a extra understeery automobile, Kimi had a extra oversteery automobile. If we have a look at how they had been arrange, we do not but know fairly why we received such an enormous distinction.
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“So, although, actually good to have a robust point-scoring weekend after we weren’t at our greatest by way of efficiency. It was truly good enjoyable, sat on the pitwall and having to make choices in a rush. I believe the entire workforce loved that and rose to the event. And it was undoubtedly consequence, given the place we had been.
“However yeah, a little bit of head-scratching to do over the subsequent few days.”
As Shovlin identified, Mercedes nonetheless picked up its second-highest factors rating as a workforce this season – 46 factors, solely behind the 55 factors it notched up on the Chinese language GP – granted each had been dash race weekends with extra factors on supply.
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