Mercedes has decided not to use its upgraded floor during the Belgian Grand Prix. However, the team plans to reintroduce the update once the Formula 1 season resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix. Prior to the summer break, Mercedes experimented with a modified floor on their W15 car during practice sessions. Unfortunately, the team experienced difficulties and decided to revert to the previous specification due to poor performance and expected rain. Other teams, such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, and RB, have also faced challenges with their update packages throughout the season. Mercedes’ team principal, Toto Wolff, denied that the setback was related to the floor update and attributed the issues to the car’s mechanical setup. He expressed curiosity about the upcoming race in Zandvoort, where they will test the updated floor and analyze its performance to determine the cause of the previous problems.
The reversal turned out to be a boon as George Russell, who only made one pit stop, led a Mercedes 1-2 until he was disqualified due to his car being 1.5 kilograms under the required weight.
According to Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin, the team’s decision to revert back to the Silverstone specifications was influenced by the similar characteristics of the Spa circuit to Silverstone.
“We made the decision to remove the updates and essentially bring the car back to the Silverstone spec on Friday because we had a successful race in Silverstone,” he explained.
“Spa and Silverstone have comparable corner speeds, so it made sense to make this change.”
“We had encountered some issues, which we believe were mainly caused by how we were running the car in Spa, rather than the updates themselves.”
“This resulted in some bouncing in the high-speed corners and a few balance problems.”
“Returning to the Silverstone car resolved these issues and brought everything back to normal.”
“We have now had the opportunity to analyze the data and understand exactly what went wrong, and based on that, we are confident that we will reintroduce the updates in Zandvoort.”
However, despite Mercedes’ success with three wins in four races, team principal Toto Wolff has urged caution and highlighted that there is no guarantee that their positive momentum will continue when the season resumes.
“We need to stay grounded,” warned Wolff.
“There is a clear positive trend on our side, but we also see some other teams experiencing a negative trend.”
“We cannot predict how the second half of the season will unfold. It will be a tough battle, with four teams giving their all.”
“We can cautiously be optimistic, but we need to prove ourselves. There are still 10 races remaining.”
Photo by Mercedes F1 Instagram
