Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton has raised concerns over Mercedes’ latest upgrade package, claiming team boss Toto Wolff suspects their major floor and sidepod changes may have cost them as much as half a second in lap time.
The Brackley outfit introduced major upgrades at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The upgrades, which resulted in modifications to almost every body surface, were brought in with the aim of improving medium-to-high speed downforce.
While hopes were high heading into the weekend at the Sepang International Circuit, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell qualified third and seventh, respectively. The Italian driver finished second and Russell retired with a power unit issue.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton questioned whether the technical update is flawed or had simply been affected by track-specific circumstances in Malaysia.
“Obviously, the DNF is something out of his control, but Mercedes never looked like they were in the mix for the fight,” Buxton said.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
“They had a big upgrade. Is it a case, and I guess we may only know this weekend, but do we feel it’s a case of the upgrade hasn’t worked or that it was track-specific and that they didn’t get what they wanted out of it?
“Because for those who don’t know, big upgrades on things like the floor and the sidepods, and they were adding a little bit of downforce to the car, which meant they would have lost a little bit of straightline speed, but it should have paid back through the corners. They were expecting to gain about three tenths of a second. As it is, Toto thinks they may have lost around four or five [tenths].
“So, not a gain, potentially a loss. I think they’re going to run back-to-back tests in Singapore between the old spec and the new spec. But there’s only one practice session because it’s a sprint weekend.”
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