Andrew Shoblin, truckside engineering director for Mercedes F1, might bring a “similar challenge” to another street circuit, Baku, following Monaco was forced to raise the ride height due to bouncing difficulties. I am worried that there is.
Bouncing, which appeared to have disappeared in Barcelona, recurred on the city course of Monaco, with George Russell feeling “willy” and Lewis Hamilton feeling “eyeballs popping out.”
The Mercedes F1 believed that the upgrade introduced to the W13 solved the popping problem, so it was disappointing that the bouncing occurred in a different way.
“It was much harder to drive in Monaco than in Barcelona,” said Andrew Shovlin.
“In Barcelona, we knew there was still work to be done to close the gap between Red Bull and Ferrari, but it showed a good pace.”
“But Monaco’s challenge is the slow nature. It’s a very bumpy circuit and we had a hard time riding the car.”
“It affected the driver’s confidence in carrying speed, and that meant we mightn’t run as close to optimal as we might in Spain.”
Mercedes F1 drivers want to improve in the next round of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Andrew Shovlin says he fears that the features of the street circuit might cause the Mercedes W13 to experience the same misery.
Baku is a high-speed circuit unlike Monaco, but because it runs on public roads, bouncing may reoccur.
“Baku may present some similar challenges,” said Andrew Shovlin.
“We are working on areas to improve ride quality so that we can drive the car a little closer to the optimal window.”
“But in addition to adding basic performance to the car, we know we need to make it work on a wider range of circuits.”
“All of them are busy preparing for Baku, but there are other challenging tracks out there, so I’m busy in the long run.”
“But the team and drivers are anxious to get back on the front line and are really working hard on all of these projects.”
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes / F1 Azerbaijan GP
