Lewis Hamilton qualified P7 for the Azerbaijan GP but had to start from the pit lane after changing engine components post-parc fermé. Many questioned why Mercedes sacrificed a strong starting position that could have put him in contention for a top-five finish. Andrew Shovlin later revealed that the decision was made because of an upcoming update to the W15.
Shovlin explained that Hamilton was due to take an engine penalty in the remaining seven races, following the power unit failure he experienced in Melbourne earlier this year. The Silver Arrows’ Trackside Engineering Director added that the team wanted to avoid any potential failure or penalty for Hamilton once new upgrades were introduced to the W15. That’s why they decided to ‘sacrifice’ Hamilton’s Baku outing.
“In the near future, we’ve got a good update kit coming,” Shovlin said in Mercedes’ post-race debrief video posted on YouTube.
“We are hoping that it’ll put us back into a better situation. What we wanted to do was to get the pain of that pit lane to start off the way before we got a car that hopefully can get back to challenging for podiums on merit,” he added.
Despite Qualifying 7th for the Main Race, Lewis Hamilton will start from the pitlane after taking new Power units.#F12024 #LewisHamilton #azerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/dcjSfWkl7s
— Joe (@mrjoe2001) September 15, 2024
Hamilton spent most of the race fighting his way through the field, engaging in a late battle with newcomers Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman. He finished between the two rookies, securing two points—not an impressive haul, but enough to keep him focused on challenging Ferrari and McLaren for the remainder of the season.
Shovlin revealed that the upgrade package is expected to arrive after the Singapore GP, potentially marking the last race before the Brackley-based team returns to winning form.
Mercedes to bring a major update to Austin
Mercedes is aiming for a strong finish to the 2024 campaign, a season marked by inconsistency. While they secured three race wins, in most of the others, they struggled to keep pace with Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull.
As a result, the team is bringing a significant upgrade to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the US GP.
“At the moment our main focus is on bringing a bigger package to Austin,” Shovlin said. “Then we get into the final 6 races of the year and there will be smaller things beyond that. But the bigger update is what we’re focusing on right now.”
COTA is a proper racing circuit, as are all the tracks on the F1 calendar for the remainder of the season, except for Las Vegas. Mercedes’ upgrade package will be focused on getting the most out of these races.
Given this, Mercedes might be aiming for a podium at the Singapore GP this weekend. The Marina Bay Circuit is notorious for crashes and incidents, so, it does give the Silver Arrows an outside chance of competing for a win.
