The Miami Grand Prix came bearing this season’s best finish for Lewis Hamilton in a Grand Prix. Starting the race from P8, the British driver climbed several ranks to secure important points for Mercedes. However, if he operated on a better strategy, things could have been even better for the 7x World Champion. In an interview on Mercedes’ official YouTube channel, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin revealed why the team did not opt for a better strategy.
Per Shovlin, the primary reason behind calling Hamilton in early was the traffic in the midfield. Shovlin claimed they ran the risk of being undercut by a midfield team had Hamilton stayed out. The #44 driver also struggled to find optimum grip with the Hard tires, forcing Mercedes to call him in early.
Once Hamilton was on the Medium tires, his whole race turned around. Not only did he find more grip, but his pace also increased. The Mercedes driver even closed in on Sergio Perez and had the opportunity to get past him. Seeing the same, Shovlin said that had they known how well Hamilton would be on the Medium tires, they would have run the risk of being undercut.
Shovlin also explained why Mercedes put Lewis Hamilton on the Hard compound tires. Given that he was starting from behind George Russell, the Silver Arrows saw it fit to have the trailing car go for the longer stint to gain an advantage. However, the strategy backfired as Hamilton overtook Russell in the opening laps.
George Russell faced the same problem as Lewis Hamilton
Finishing the race in P8, George Russell was over eight seconds behind Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda. Russell seemed unable to overtake Tsunoda for P7, and the reason behind it was the same as Hamilton’s struggle in the first stint—the Hard tires. The British driver struggled to find enough grip to push the car and take P7 from Tsunoda.
Shovlin believes improving the car balance is key to fixing the issue. Development in the handling characteristics will improve the balance, leading to better performance across all tires.
Andrew Shovlin confirmed that Mercedes are expected to bring upgrades at Imola and are planning to bring some at the future races.#MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/nUGuuACIku
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) May 8, 2024
Much like McLaren, Mercedes brought some upgrades to their car for the race in Miami. However, the two teams had drastically varying results, given the Woking-based team left the venue as race winners thanks to a brilliant drive by Lando Norris.
Nonetheless, Mercedes remains optimistic about turning their fate around. Their upgrade in Miami was only half the package; the rest is due to arrive in Imola. As such, the Silverstone outfit hopes they can further improve the car’s pace.
