Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin has explained that the regression of the W16 is a key factor in Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s downturn in form in recent Formula 1 races.
The Italian rookie has failed to score in all the European races so far this season, his more recent top 10 finish being his maiden podium in Canada.
Mercedes’ downwards trajectory has been noted by Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell, who said after the Belgian Grand Prix that he and the 18-year-old are “collectively making more mistakes because the car is more challenging to drive.”
Shovlin theorised that Russell’s experience is what is proving to be the big difference between the two at the moment, and that the team is working to rectify the situation.
“I think what you’ve seen in the recent qualifyings is that George is leaning on his many years of experience in an F1 car to try and make the most of a difficult car,” he said.
“Kimi hasn’t got that to drop back on, and that’s probably why you’ve seen a bit of a shift in his results recently.
“But again, it goes back to the fact we’ve got to solve that problem because there’s still a long way to go this year.
“It is quite likely something that we’ve changed on the car, and we need to get back to a baseline where it’s working more normally.”
Shovlin revealed that the team back at Brackley is striving to improve the car as a whole, with Antonelli receiving as much help as possible from race engineer Peter Bonnington.
“Kimi’s had a few tough weekends, but he’s getting a lot of engineering support from Bono and the engineers on that side of the garage,” he said..
“We as a team are well aware that the thing that we need to focus on is the weaknesses in the car, not the bits that Kimi’s struggling with.
“The fact is that George is leaning on all his experience, quite a bit of it driving difficult cars, to get the qualifying laps out of it. We’re finding quite a lot of time during the session.
“It’s just because George is learning to know when he can trust the car and [he] can lean on it, but he’s not getting that feeling from it inherently.”
Exposure to an underperforming Mercedes will help Antonelli learn
Shovlin is unconcerned about Antonelli’s lack of points in the European season, acknowledging that his talent has been proven when given a competitive package.
“Kimi’s on a steep learning curve and he’s going to be getting better as a driver,” he added.
“The fact that his early performances were better than they are now is almost certainly that the car’s not as competitive, and you can see that mirrored in George’s results.
“We’ve seen it lots of times before as well. When a young driver comes in and they’re in a very good car, they can often really impress.
“When a young driver comes in and they’re in a difficult car, it’s very hard to get it together week in, week out. We’ve seen enough from Kimi to know that there’s a great deal of talent there.
“But what will help George will also help Kimi, and it will probably help Kimi more.”
Mercedes ‘has taken the wrong steps’
Mercedes Technical Director James Allison has also chimed in on the issue, agreeing with Shovlin that Antonelli’s woes reflect the team’s recent struggles on track.
“I think he’s, like the rest of us, massively fed up with a string of results that are well below what we were collectively achieving earlier in the year,” Allison expressed.
“I hope he takes some solace from the fact that we tell him, and it’s demonstrably a fact, that we have taken the wrong steps with the car, making our team less competitive, and that he is paying the price for that, as is George.
“If the car isn’t where it needs to be, then it will be a struggle getting through the qualifying stages in your rookie season in F1.
“And it’s utterly clear to all of us that the thing we need to do is make the car better, and then Kimi’s fortunes will reverse with that.
“Hopefully he’s listening to us as we say those reassuring words, because we absolutely know that he is putting in the effort on his side of that bargain.”
Allison added that teams that have continued to improve as the season has progressed have exacerbated the incorrect steps that Mercedes has taken.
“When you have a situation where seemingly everybody’s improved by the same amount and you’ve just slipped backwards, more often than not when that happens it’s because you have made yourself worse by that amount,” he said.
“It isn’t that everyone magically has put on the same size upgrade and crept up around you through that.”
Allison concluded that the fact the recent issues are on the team, it is perhaps easier to ensure it can undo the incorrect changes to improve the car between now and the end of the season.
“The downside, of course, is it’s dispiriting when we’ve made a lot of effort to improve the car, and we have not,” he explained.
“The upside of it is that if you’ve done it yourself, which we have, it is comparatively easier to unpick that, because you just have to retrace your steps a bit, understand which of the steps you took that was in the wrong direction, and then move forward from there.”
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