Why Hamilton's "better jump" led to 'mission impossible' in Mexico
Why Hamilton's "better jump" led to 'mission impossible' in Mexico
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has revealed how Lewis Hamilton's better start over team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the Mexico City Grand Prix was the catalyst for Max Verstappen's victory.
Starting from a wholly unexpected front-row lock-out spearheaded by Bottas, but facing the second-longest run into a first corner in F1, Mercedes' plans unravelled within seconds off the line.
"It is a very long run," said Shovlin. "Of all the circuits to get a front-row lockout...we were worried by all the things that could go wrong with tows.
"The drivers talk about how they can choreograph themselves but the reality is, once the lights go out, it is very difficult to stick to your plan because it is never quite as you might imagine."
While both drivers made a strong start, Hamilton's was marginally better, resulting in him quickly ending up alongside Bottas rather than filing in behind to act as a buffer to any Verstappen attack.
The situation was exacerbated by the fact Bottas inexplicably chose to shuffle across to the middle of the track, providing an opening to his left that Verstappen exploited, aided by a superb moment of late braking into turn one.
"It was almost unfortunate for us that Lewis got a better jump than Valtteri," assessed Shovlin. "Lewis got a good jump alongside so he was unable to tow off Valtteri.
"If you watch the overhead, it is easy to see what they could have done differently to prevent Max from having the opening on the left side.
"The reality is, we knew lap one would be one of our vulnerabilities. It wasn't for bad starts, it was just the way it all shook out.
"They weren't able to block him and I don't think we were as good as them in braking for turn one. Max did a very good job at that and ultimately, that was another area we were a bit weak - we weren't able to brake deep enough."
Shovlin has confirmed that given Verstappen's pace, the team quickly realised a win was never on the cards, and that it was about salvaging second place ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Asked for his thinking at the end of lap one, Shovlin replied: "You are always trying to deal with the situation in front of you. You are not really crying about what hasn't gone your way.
"But you know instantly that having one car there is going to be difficult, and you know that the next five to 10 laps are going to give you a very clear picture of the pace.
"Once we could see that Max clearly had the legs on Lewis and Perez was able to keep up, it shifted our focus away from making sure we didn't lose P2 rather than trying to achieve the impossible with Max.
"It was pretty clear it was not a day we had a car to win."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Verstappen SLAMS key F1 Chinese Grand Prix decision
- 41 minutes ago
Schumacher's personal collection to be sold in MEGA-MONEY auction
- 1 hour ago
Wolff 'p*****' by Verstappen error as star makes Mercedes debut
- 2 hours ago
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton to Ferrari 'a big risk' according to McLaren driver
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty
- Today 08:28
F1 News Today: Hamilton WARNED by Ferrari chief as legend tempted by 'enticing' offer from F1 rivals
- Today 06:27
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
- GP CANADA 7 - 9 Jun
Related news
Wolff 'p*****' by Verstappen error as star makes Mercedes debut
Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty
Mercedes announce MAJOR £5.9 million loss in profits
Verstappen admits new Mercedes relationship with F1 future update
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