Mercedes’ F1 Director Shovlin Reveals True Extent of Damage to Lewis Hamilton’s Car in Austria
Follow Us
Lewis Hamilton finished the Austrian Grand Prix in a disappointing fourth position. The Mercedes started the race P4 behind championship rival Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Sergio Perez. He was gaining momentum in the race as he passed Perez and Lando to go up to P2 but could not gain ground on Verstappen.
The British driver was struggling to match the lap times of the Red Bull ahead and was falling back. Until Mercedes advised him to let his teammate Valtteri Bottas go through to chase after Max.
Lewis lost another position when McLaren‘s Norris passed him on -track to secure the final podium position. Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin has come out to provide insights on Hamilton’s struggles in the race.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH STORY: Lewis Hamilton’s Biggest F1 Crashes
How much did the damage affect? A lot: Shovlin on Hamilton’s performance
As reported by FormulaPassion.it, Shovlin mentioned that the damage limited the progress of Hamilton in the race. He also stated that the damage caused to the car meant Lewis was losing downforce throughout the race.
” How much did the damage affect? A lot.” said the Mercedes trackside engineering director on Hamilton’s sudden lack of performance.
Trending
Liam Lawson’s Surprise Contract Clause Threatens Daniel Ricciardo’s RB Seat
April 24, 2024 11:15 AM EDT
F1 Rumor: Adrian Newey to Join Ferrari, Leaving Red Bull Amid Christian Horner-Helmut Marko Fiasco
April 25, 2024 05:55 PM EDT
What Is Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino? Significance of Ferrari’s Historic Change to a Blue Livery for Miami GP
April 24, 2024 04:52 PM EDT
“[Charles] Leclerc Doesn’t Care About Ferrari”: F1 Insider’s Brutal Blow to Fred Vasseur & Co. Has Racing Community Lashing Out
April 24, 2024 05:00 PM EDT
F1 Rumor: Christian Horner and Wife Geri to Publicly Reveal All Details on Leaked Chat Scandal
April 22, 2024 04:10 PM EDT
Get instantly notified of the hottest F1 stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.
Follow Us
” The damage was in a part of the rear that generates an enormous amount of performance. This is a very sensitive area. In that area, we measure the pressures and from those, we can derive the performance.
From these, we estimated that we had lost between 30 and 40 points of downforce. This translates into 6-7 tenths per second for each spin.” said Andrew Shovlin. (Translated by Google Translate)
Shovlin concluded by stating,” In addition, Hamilton had a lot of oversteer. The rear wheel swerved and warmed the tires more, causing them to degrade. ”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Lewis Hamilton: His Road Through F1 How He Discovered His Love For Racing
British Grand Prix is a must-win race for Lewis Hamilton
At the end of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton finds himself 32 points behind the championship leader Max Verstappen. He is more than a whole race victory away from catching up to Verstappen.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone is paramount for Hamilton’s title bid. He needs to pull off a win to keep this title fight alive as Red Bull and Verstappen are not showing any signs of slowing down.
Can Hamilton win at Silverstone again? Comment below to let us know.
Written by: