F1 News
Mercedes expresses frustrations: 'This car has been particularly annoying'
- GPblog.com
Mercedes seem to have finally turned the tide after a very difficult start to the season, but are still falling short of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. Technical director Andrew Shovlin explains why the team has stuck with the W13 concept for so long, despite its disappointing performance.
Mercedes was asked many times during the current Formula 1 season when it would finally admit that the W13 concept does not work. Each time, the team answered that it was not yet ready to give up on the zero side pods concept and emphasised that again recently.
Mercedes is confident
On the one hand, Mercedes is sticking to the results it has seen in simulations and the wind tunnel. These are so encouraging that the team is betting everything on the current concept. On the other hand, the W13 occasionally shows its potential. "This car has been particularly annoying in the way it gives you glimpses of performance and what might be, to a level where it’s very difficult for us just to give up on it," Shovlin said in conversation with The Race.
Because the potential is there but it doesn't come out time and time again, Shovlin says he gets 'sucked in', making it hard to let go of the concept. The Hungarian Grand Prix was one such weekend where the W13's potential was revealed, with George Russell surprisingly taking pole and Lewis Hamilton joining him on Mercedes' second consecutive double podium.