The aftermath of the British Grand Prix has brought a flurry of news about F1 and Mercedes upgrades under the microscope.
Lewis Hamilton has expressed his concern that the new W14 divisions over the weekend won’t make them as controversial as he’d hoped, and team boss Toto Wolff was asked more widely about the results. it will happen to the car.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper
There’s a lot to tackle in the days following the British Grand Prix, so here’s what you need to know to catch it all.
Toto Wolff asks about Mercedes sidepod vulnerability
With Mercedes already taking significant steps to transform their car concept, work is still underway at Silver Arrows to try to bring them closer to the forefront of the field.
With the zero-pods being phased out in favor of the more conventional sidepod input concept and Red Bull still leading the way, while of course there are more factors in the game, he said. was asked if the team had a fundamental problem with that area of the car and why Mercedes hadn’t taken a more Red Bull-style approach to it.
He told media outlets including PlanetF1.com: “We had the sidepod concept and the bodywork in the tunnel very early on to see what avenues it would open and how much it would add to the performance. capacity.
«And the relative loss of downward force, the way we measure it, is significant.»
Read more: Toto Wolff asked if Mercedes had a fundamental sidepod problem
Lewis Hamilton makes worrying verdict on W14 upgrade
Mercedes brought a new front wing to the British Grand Prix as part of their efforts to improve this season, but wholesale changes at McLaren have left both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ahead of Mercedes in the order. competition on the weekend.
While Lewis Hamilton could find his way to the podium, Safety Cars played a role in helping to reduce his pit stop price and win the spot, the seven-time world champion remains concerned about efficiency or a lack of its flaws, the upgrades already on its car.
“I think in the end because we had a really bad race, obviously last week, and we knew we were going to have an upgrade coming, so we were all very hopeful. looking forward to the step that we will try to take this weekend and bring us closer,” he told media outlets including PlanetF1.com.
«But we’re disappointed that we didn’t get to that step, unfortunately, and for us, sixth place versus last Saturday is not a great feeling.»
Read more: Lewis Hamilton makes a disturbing verdict on Mercedes’ Silverstone upgrade
Sergio Perez asked by Christian Horner to ‘remove his qualifiers’
Sergio Perez started the third quarter in a fifth straight race by qualifying for 16th at Silverstone, and while team boss Christian Horner praised the Mexican’s yet another rebound in momentum, he did. want him to get up to speed on Saturday as soon as possible.
Perez recovered to sixth on Sunday but even lost to race winner Max Verstappen, who currently has a 99-point lead in the World Championships.
«It’s annoying for him that he has to fight all the time, but he has to arrange qualifying on Saturday and, as a team, we will do our best to support him on that.» there,” Horner told media outlets including PlanetF1 .com at Silverstone.
«It’s just one of those things where I think, like in all sports, 90% of that is in the head, and I think he just needs to run well and he’ll find his motivation again. .”
Read more: Christian Horner puts pressure on Sergio Perez as barren Q3 drags on even longer
Big changes behind the scenes at Alpine
Bruno Famin has been promoted to vice president of Alpine Motorsports, who was previously in charge of the team’s power unit division.
This is an important change mainly because it will see all motorsport team bosses, including Alpine team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, now report directly to he daily about his work with the Formula 1 team.
Famin will now be placed between Szafnauer and the not-so-praise CEO Laurent Rossi, who made his feelings about how his team did at the start of the season outspoken but criticized the team. amateur» and «mediocre, lousy» performances.
Read more: Alpine announces key appointment to oversee F1 team after restructuring
Ferrari responds to George Russell’s complaints
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur took a dry look at George Russell complaining about Charles Leclerc defending him during Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Russell took to the team radio to lament that Leclerc was «moving slowly» while the two vie for fourth place on the road in the early stages, but when asked about that, Vasseur’s response was very bluntly: “Yes, I can show you some of the action from the start of the season,” he quipped to media including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone. “He also did good things. That is life.»
Read more: Ferrari shoots back George Russell after complaints about Charles Leclerc
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