Mercedes to analyze whether or not return of bouncing was triggered by improve

Mercedes will examine whether or not the brand new sidepods and flooring designs they launched on the Belgian Grand Prix brought about the rise in bouncing reported by each drivers.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reported the W14 was bouncing severely in excessive pace sections of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Mercedes staff principal Toto Wolff stated bouncing had been their fundamental limiting issue after learning the information from the race and listening to the drivers’ suggestions.

“The automotive is simply bouncing actually on each straight,” stated Wolff. “Even Blanchimont was a nook that Lewis needed to elevate which is a straightforward flat [out] usually.

“You’re bouncing on the straight, you overheat the tyres on the braking, so that could be a vicious circle and was the primary limiting issue this weekend.”

The staff launched a big improve for its automotive in Belgium, together with reshaped sidepods and a modified flooring. Because the weekend’s solely hour of practise was held in moist situations, Mercedes had little alternative to check the real-world efficiency of their newest improve.

Wolff stated they may not rule out the likelihood that the bouncing reported by the drivers was triggered by the modifications to the automotive.

“We’ve received to analyse it,” he stated. “There’s a lot arduous work that’s been happening within the improve, the aero guys and operations to ship that improve. The ground might have been a motive why we’ve been bouncing.

“However we’re going to see it within the information and possibly there’s nothing which we have to finetune as a result of I nonetheless consider that the route that we’re going now could be the best one.”

Gallery: 2023 Belgian Grand Prix in picturesHamilton stated the bouncing was as unhealthy as what had been skilled throughout final season. Russell, who ran a better downforce set-up on his automotive, suspects current set-up selections additionally contributed to the issue recurring.

“I feel this weekend’s validated most likely that the route we’ve taken with the set-up in current races hasn’t been the best one. We suffered with an enormous quantity of bouncing as we speak.

“A variety of groups did, possibly not as extreme as we did. Nonetheless, clearly a little bit of a disgrace to see that as a sport on the pinnacle, nearly all of groups are nonetheless fighting bouncing. I hope one thing will be solved in that regard sooner or later.”

Whereas Hamilton fell again from third on the grid to complete fourth, Russell rose two locations to take sixth within the grand prix. Nonetheless he believes a greater end result was potential had his begin not being compromised by the collision between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jnr.

“It was simply very unlucky at the start when Oscar had his failure,” Russell defined. “I went to the left, form of misjudged it, he couldn’t flip, I received boxed in and misplaced 4 or 5 positions in the beginning.

“That type of dictated my race. If it wasn’t for that we’d have been P5. I might have favored to assume I might have been up there with Lewis and Charles [Leclerc] combating for the rostrum.”

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