Bottas wanted to feel more confident in his car in Baku
This weekend, the most astute observers were able to notice that Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas were not using the same wings, this choice does not come from Mercedes, but from the drivers themselves.
It’s a detail that did not go unnoticed. Delicate throughout the weekend, the drivers of the star brand took a long time to find a setup that suited them on the demanding Baku circuit. While Lewis Hamilton seemed to have found a new setup at the end of FP3, allowing him to have a good qualifying session and to be at the front during the race (before losing everything at the second start), Bottas was still struggling.
If we compare the two cars, a glaring difference stands out. The Mercedes drivers were not using the same wings. The reigning world champion was using a low-downforce rear wing, while Bottas had a wing with more downforce on his silver arrow.
This difference in fins between the two cars had already been noticed in Portimao. Yesterday during the Mercedes debrief, the team explained that this is a choice of the drivers, and that it is not imposed by the team.
« In fact, the settings were quite similar. The biggest difference between the two cars probably came from the wings used. Lewis raced with less downforce, at a level that the simulations indicated to be optimal. And Valtteri chose a higher downforce level which, according to our predictions, was a bit slower, maybe by a tenth per lap. How is this choice made? It was Valtteri’s choice to use this wing, and he did it because he felt he would be faster with it. »
(Translation) What you need to understand is that this is a challenging circuit (Baku). It’s a circuit where it’s quite difficult to get the front tires up to temperature, and where real confidence is needed because the walls are really close. Getting the front tires up to temperature is really important, and if you can go a little faster, put a little more energy into those tires, the car will go faster, which will result in a virtuous circle for performance. The fact that Valtteri is happy with his car, feels confident, is more important than a small difference in performance predicted by a simulation, explained Mike Elliott, technology director at Mercedes, during the team’s debrief on YouTube.
