Mercedes has revealed that the floor damage on Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 car during the Austrian Grand Prix amounted to be worth “two and a half tenths” per lap.
Hamilton came home a distant fourth at the Red Bull Ring as Mercedes team-mate George Russell capitalised on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ late clash to win.
The Briton made a strong start to pass Carlos Sainz, but worries that he would be penalised for running wide at Turn 1 prompted him to be told to hand the spot back.
Hamilton would then be hit with a five-second penalty as an oversteer moment saw him cross the pit entrance line and he ended up 23s behind Russell come the end.
However, the margin between the Mercedes pair was attributable to underside damage that was costing Hamilton marked performance around a circa 70-second lap.
“Yeah, it was one of his bad days,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reviewed. “A pretty decent start and then Turn 1, Lap 1, giving the position back was a harsh thing.
“But it was pretty clear that we wouldn’t be getting a 10-second penalty by not doing it. Then it started to spiral.
“He pushed very hard on the entry, you can see how much he pushed, lost the rear and then obviously the next penalty came about.
“On top of that, we had floor damage because of the kerb ride, which I guess most people have but his was extensive.
“It was two and a half tenths in parts that broke off on the kerb. So no reason to be angry or upset about it.”
Hamilton admitted that he’s unsure when he incurred the damage that prevented him from chasing down Sainz’s Ferrari to make it consecutive rostrum appearances.
“I’m not really quite sure,” he expressed. “I think I got, in Turn 1 a bit of damage and then the floor is just falling apart. I don’t know when I got the damage from that.”
Regarding the time drop that dealt another setback to his hopes in the 71-lap race, Hamilton stated: “I haven’t yet seen the video, so I don’t have much more to say.”
The seven-time champion cut a despondent figure as he asserted the inroads that delivered Mercedes’ first win since November 2022 hadn’t changed much for him.
“I mean, from my side it’s not that different,” he expressed. “But George as you can see he’s doing pretty well. So, that’s a huge boost for us.”
He added: “A big victory for George and the team. This is an amazing result.”
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