Mercedes F1 faces challenges maximizing its Austin upgrades, with Hamilton warning Sprint format complicates their potential impact.
Lewis Hamilton hopes that Mercedes F1’s upgrades will help the team move up the ranks and close the gap to McLaren and Red Bull. The seven-time world champion does not rule out that the new developments on the W15 could be more significant than those of their rivals.
“Normally, the team is always evolving, so they’ve had time to analyze our mistakes,” Hamilton said in Austin. “But we’ve also been slightly out of sync compared to the others.”
“The others have all made updates at times when we didn’t, so we’re bringing upgrades here, for example. Some may bring small parts here, but not everyone will have the same updates as us.”
“Others brought theirs to Zandvoort and Monza—I think that was the case for Ferrari—so I think we’ve just been a little off-timing, and we’ve ended up losing our way a bit with the setup.”
“I think we now understand where we went wrong, not necessarily badly, but where we deviated, and hopefully this weekend we can return to a better balance.”
However, this weekend will also feature a Sprint, making it challenging to fully exploit the updated car: “It’s impossible unless you get lucky and the upgrade works right from the start.”
“Last year, we came here, and I didn’t have to change much—the balance was perfect from the outset. Nine and a half times out of ten, that’s not the case. It’s tough, but everyone is in the same boat. It puts a lot of pressure and focus on simulation.”
“The simulations weren’t ideal last year, but we’re constantly working on them. Others put their car on the track and it works immediately. We hope we’ve made enough mistakes, and we hope to start from a better baseline.”
“Reevaluating the W15 while thinking about 2025”
George Russell explained yesterday that Mercedes still had some somewhat outdated parts, like their floor, and the Briton detailed the team’s decisions: “These three weeks off have been great as they allowed us to take a step back and reassess the car as a whole, while also thinking about next year.”
“We’ve definitely identified some areas we want to change for next year. When you’re in the middle of a season, you sometimes don’t have the opportunity to focus on the fundamentals of the car. So that’s very positive.”
“Obviously, we’ve revisited the upgrades we brought to Spa. In fact, we’re making two steps forward with these improvements. We hope it will have a significant impact.”
“I hope with this upgrade, we can compete again, at least in qualifying, for the top four positions and then, in the race, for a podium. Realistically, we know McLaren and Red Bull have a good lead over everyone else at the moment.”
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Hamilton Doubts Full Sprint Potential for Austin Upgrades Hamilton Doubts Full Sprint Potential for Austin Upgrades
