Mercedes explain Hamilton front-wing damage in Austria
Mercedes explain Hamilton front-wing damage in Austria
Mercedes have revealed that Lewis Hamilton damaged the device used to adjust his front wing during the Austrian Grand Prix, which necessitated a pit-stop for a time-costly nose change.
Hamilton was ahead of both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in 'net' positions until he had to stop for a front wing change, costing him a place to the Dutchman, and perhaps allowing Vettel the chance to overtake him for fourth place later in the race after a second stop.
The championship leader had also broken two front wing in practice over the unforgiving 'sausage' kerbs at the Red Bull Ring, with the incident in the race putting his car well off-balance, trackside chief Andrew Shovlin explained.
"He was running on the kerb at Turn 10 and the flap adjuster broke," Shovlin said in Mercedes' YouTube debrief.
"That's the thing we use to change the angle of the flaps on the left and right side of the wing, that changes how much downforce it produces and this is one of the main tools the drivers and the engineers use to balance the car, they are trying to put more load on the front.
"When it broke on that kerb, it drops down. It only drops by a few degrees but it means that he's got understeer then in all those fast corners."
Shovlin confirmed that Mercedes could have adjusted the other side of the front wing so that it matched the faulty half, although this would have lost too much performance, making a change necessary.
He added: "We were looking at the readings we were getting on that wing, trying to understand if there was the range to do it, just by adding more wing on the other side of the car and it was quite clear that wouldn't be enough.
"So that was then we had to take the pit stop, which is about an additional eight seconds, but overall that would have been quicker for the race as a whole, because he would of otherwise been slower by at least half a second a lap."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey's desired Ferrari role revealed as Red Bull chief submits RESIGNATION - GPFans F1 Recap
- 3 hours ago
Leclerc pictured with new love as post hits 3 MILLION likes
- Yesterday 22:57
Spice Girl 'rock of support' for Geri Horner amid Red Bull 'NIGHTMARE'
- Yesterday 21:57
Newey move to F1 rivals RULED OUT
- Yesterday 20:57
Jos Verstappen hints at Red Bull EXIT for champion son
- Yesterday 19:57
How soon will Newey win the F1 title at his new team?
- Yesterday 18:57
Related news
Hamilton beats Verstappen and host of legends to key title
Former F1 chief suggests Ferrari making WRONG decision in Hamilton-Sainz switch
Hamilton and Wolff centre stage as F1 shuts down New York for new emoji launch
F1 rival makes stunning Hamilton 'best' claim despite poor form
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860