Andrew Shovlin, trackside engineering director for the Mercedes F1, explained recent advances, saying that this season’s car W13 is no longer just “fighting to survive.”
Eight-time constructors’ champion Mercedes F1 had a disappointing first half of the season on a new generation of 2022 F1 cars, for example Lewis Hamilton couldn’t even reach Q2 at the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes F1 had the most difficulty in popping / bouncing, which is a by-product of the ground effect car.
But the Mercedes F1, which has been learning about new cars, is beginning to recover. Instead of getting the podium as a result of a rival team incident, he is now starting to get it completely on his own.
At the F1 British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s car had some problems, but Lewis Hamilton was helped by the car update and eventually finished in 3rd place. He also recorded the fastest lap on the final lap.
“In the first few races, we were literally fighting to survive,” said Andrew Shoblin, director of trackside engineering at Mercedes F1.
“The drivers were fighting to survive in a very unwieldy car, but in reality they did a decent job of earning points and seizing opportunities unreliably for others.”
The first concrete improvement in Mercedes F1 was at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing in 3rd and 5th respectively.
“Barcelona helped us because we didn’t have the bouncing that was on every circuit we went to,” said Andrew Shovlin.
“But the three consecutive battles on the street track highlighted another weakness, and to be honest, we exhausted it just to look for the problem, and from there we applied engineering skills to solve the problem. want to be”
“I think the route we want to take is now more and more clear. It’s encouraging from a development perspective.”
“This (Silverstone) update is the first update along the line that has begun to produce in Barcelona.”
The Mercedes W13 isn’t visibly different from when it first appeared in the Zeropod design, but Andrew Shovlin still feels that significant changes have been made.
“When it comes to the concept of the car, it really changed the car since it first ran,” said 48-year-old Andrew Shovlin.
“The behavior is very different from when I first ran it. From a distance, it’s aerodynamically very similar to what I saw in the first race, but now it’s a completely different beast.”
“In Barcelona, we’ve probably changed the concept in terms of how the car works to solve some of the bouncing.”
“And our problem with bouncing, of course, caused a lot of interest in the early races as we were at the worst end of the pack, but looking at us here (Silverstone), I I think we’re actually getting closer to that better end. “
“I’m sure we’re not the best, but we’re far from the worst. So I think we’re making progress. We’re left with a slightly stiffer car than we want, but we’re starting to work. I’m sure it’s a car that can do it. “
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes / F1 British GP