Andrew Shovlin Opens Up About How Mercedes Team Feels About “Bittersweet” Belgian GP Win

Mercedes had a dominating run in the race at the Belgian GP as they crossed the line 1-2. Unfortunately, George Russell‘s car was underweight and was subsequently disqualified, handing over the win to Lewis Hamilton. Andrew Shovlin now opens up about the Brackley outfit’s weekend at Spa Francorchamps.

“It was very much a bittersweet moment. It was a fantastic finish to the race, to get the cars home 1-2 was a real achievement particularly because we’d had such a difficult Friday”, said Shovlin in Mercedes’ race debrief video. The team was disappointed with the disqualification but took home many positives given the race pace. 

Unfortunately George has been disqualified for his car being below the minimum required weight. Here’s Toto’s reaction. pic.twitter.com/a3qJLyrwr8

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 28, 2024

Shovlin added, “Overall, aside from the disappointment, the team is really encouraged by the performance.” The Trackside engineering Director further explained how the Mercedes car once struggled in the hot temperatures. However, the performance at the Belgian GP in the warm weather gives them a boost. 

George Russell was the only top 4 team driver who made the one-stop strategy work. Unfortunately, the celebrations quickly turned into sorrow as his car was found to be 1.5 kg underweight. The long run on the hard with the tires and shredding rubber is believed to be one of the reasons for the disqualification. 

Regardless, Mercedes go into the summer break with a positive mindset. Having won 3 of the last 4 races, the Silver Arrows are back in contention for consistently fighting for the race wins. 

What does the Recent results mean for Mercedes in terms of Post Break Performance?

F1 goes into almost a month-long summer break before entering the final half of the season. Mercedes brought a major upgrade package to the Belgian GP. However, the upgrade was taken off the cars on Friday night as the drivers complained about porpoising.

Andrew Shovlin explained how the team reverted to the Silverstone spec as the corner speeds are Spanish Francorchamps aren’t that different. However, since the. Mercedes have looked at the data. The porpoising wasn’t because of the upgrades but how the team was running the upgrades.

 

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The team will run the upgrades at the Dutch GP and are expected to be even quicker. The recent race wins and data have boosted the morale of the employees within the factory. 

Mercedes opted for an aggressive upgrade policy for 2024 and will be bringing upgrades throughout the remainder of the season. Hopefully, this will result in more wins in the last 10 races of the season.