Mercedes is confident despite the return of “purpoising”
Toto Wolff is confident about staying at the forefront after the summer break. The only downside for the Mercedes team principal is the return of bounce when the car is on a straight line.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been at the forefront for several Grand Prix races. The seven-time world champion finished just off the podium in Belgium. After a third place finish in Great Britain.
The silver arrows had to face the return of bounce on the straight lines. The German team had brought new side pods to the cars. « The main limiting factor was the bounce, the car was literally bouncing on every straight line. Even Blanchimont was a corner where Lewis had to release, and normally it’s full throttle easily. So, you bounce on the straight line, you overheat the tires during braking, and it’s a vicious circle », explained Toto Wolff in a press conference.
Mercedes will analyze the problem
The rebound was one of the main issues for the German cars during this weekend in Belgium. « It was the main limiting factor this weekend. It’s frustrating to leave for vacation with these problems, but in the next few days, we need to learn more based on the data », continued the team manager.
Despite the return of porpoising, Toto Wolff wishes to congratulate the employees for the improvements. We need to analyze it. There is so much hard work going on for the upcoming upgrades. The guys from the aero and operations to deliver this upgrade, you must tip your hat to them.
For the team principal, the bounce back would come from the new floor brought to Spa. « I think the floor could have been the reason why we bounced back, but we will see it in the data. And maybe there’s something we need to find, because I still believe that the direction we’re heading in now is the right one. »
