Mercedes has ditched its upgraded rear suspension package for this weekend’s Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, after a downturn in form since its introduction.
The German marque brought in the upgrade for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, two rounds ago, but George Russell saw his third-place grid start become a false dawn, ultimately finishing seventh.
Last week at Monaco, driver error and technical problems blunted its qualifying, rendering a decent race impossible, and both Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing outside the points.
Prior to the start of the triple-header, Mercedes had been one of the more consistent teams behind McLaren, with Russell finishing within the top five in every race.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race, Antonelli explained to media, including Motorsport Week, that the team will be using tweaks on the W16 and conveyed his trust in the personnel to get the car back up to speed.
“I think we have a few bits this weekend on the aero side, I think, because Imola, we struggled a little bit with the pace in the race and so we still have to learn quite a bit about the new rear suspension,” he said.
“I think, you know, now they’re back at the factory trying to analyse and trying to learn a bit more from this rear suspension because obviously it’s something new, it’s a big change and it takes a little bit of time to understand it.
“So, definitely, you know, I really trust the team and I know they’re doing the best as well. I think, you know, hopefully this weekend we can get back to that nice form and as well on my side I’ll try to do my best.”
Russell hopes for Mercedes podium fight in Spanish GP
This weekend sees temperatures rising to the high 20s, ensuring that tyre management is key. And whilst admitting the W16 has struggled in hotter weather, Russell said he is hopeful of being able to battle for a podium place.
“Yeah, I don’t see any reason why not,” he told media, including Motorsport Week. “As I said, up until Imola, we’ve been inside the top five every single quali and race. And, of course, Imola was a bad race, and then in Monaco things were slightly outside of our control.
“So I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be back in that fight for the top five, hopefully fighting for the podium. But we do know our race pace, especially in hot races, is a step behind McLaren, and this weekend is going to be very hot.
“The track is going to be over 50 degrees for the majority of the weekend. The only difference being here is we’re on the hardest compound of tyres, whereas in Imola and in Jeddah, where we struggled the most this season, it was on the softest compound of tyres, so that’s one more change.”
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