Mercedes executive Andrew Shovlin has revealed that the team is still unsure about the exact issues that plagued Lewis Hamilton during the Brazilian race weekend. The seven-time world champion repeatedly complained about his W15 in São Paulo, even going so far as to call it “the worst car I’ve ever driven.” Aside from a “lack of rear grip,” Mercedes has yet to pinpoint the precise cause of Hamilton’s problems.
Hamilton had an unremarkable race on Sunday in São Paulo, barely finishing in the points amidst the chaotic wet conditions. The seven-time world champion referred to his W15 as “the worst car I’ve ever driven” after the qualifying round, due to persistent bouncing. He also described Sunday as “terrible,” following the tumultuous race.Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, reveals that it is still “unclear” to the team where things went wrong for Lewis Hamilton. However, according to the Brit, it is not due to the different setups of the two cars, even though George Russell managed to qualify second.
“(The drivers, ed.) don’t have to drive the same and we let them develop their own setup,” explains Shovlin, in the Mercedes Racebrief. “And if one of them seems to be doing well, you often take elements of that setup, or even everything, and put it on the other car.”
Unclear Cause
The British engineer explains that Hamilton’s problems with the W15 were mainly due to a lack of grip at the rear of the car. “When we look at how he had set up his car, it’s not clear where that came from,” reveals Shovlin. “But in the Sprint race, you generate more heat as soon as you have less grip and get oversteer when exiting the track. That alone prolongs the problem.”
In addition, the ever-changing conditions also exacerbated the car’s problems. “Sprint qualification, Sprint race, that was in the dry, it was very hot, and the main qualification and the Grand Prix were in the wet. We didn’t have the session-by-session flow to improve the setup and understand how to get the most out of the car,” concludes Shovlin.
