Mercedes F1 believes that having a data sensor on Lewis Hamilton’s car at the Australian Grand Prix is worth more than the extra importance added.
In the opening two races of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2022, Lewis Hamilton’s car was not equipped with a sensor as a way to reduce the load on the W13, which Mercedes F1 considers to be an “overweight”.
However, the Mercedes F1 realized that it was a big mistake to not be able to collect information from those sensors, and at the F1 Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton’s car was equipped with sensors in qualifying and finals.
In the end, Lewis Hamilton finished fourth following teammate George Russell. But Mercedes F1 is still struggling to get the competitiveness it wants.
In a video looking back at the F1 Australian Grand Prix, James Vowles, Mercedes F1 Motorsport Strategy Director, described data from Lewis Hamilton’s car sensors.
“I’m sure we had sensors on. We always need to be well understood and data driven as an organization,” said James Vowles.
“Removing the sensor just because the car is too heavy means losing information. It was a pain. The conclusions from the first two races are too many unanswered questions as a result. It was too much. “
“In a normal year, you wouldn’t even think regarding not having a sensor in your car. Add what you need to make sure you understand what’s going on. But obviously this year is a normal year. Instead, the car is overweight. “
“In terms of how it worked between the two cars, there are thousands of components that make up George and Lewis racing cars.”
“And the weights of those components are not exactly the same. There are variability of a few grams here and there, and the actual car weights listed on the FIA scale between the two cars during the race are a few grams each other. Within. Lewis did a great job with these extra sensors. “
“In the end, the sacrifice was small, it was a gram problem between the two. That’s what we wanted.”
“Did we get good data to answer most of the questions? Absolutely. From this data, of course, we found something that might overturn everything and in one race. You can’t find a solution, but it provides clues and understanding of what you need to do to move forward. ”
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes / Lewis Hamilton / F1 Australian GP
