Problems with heat in the cockpit for the Mercedes drivers at Monza

Despite achieving better results than those in Zandvoort, with fifth and seventh places at the finish of the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes faced an unusual overheating problem in the cockpits of its cars. Several times, especially during Friday’s free practice sessions, the team’s two drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, complained via radio about the heat inside their cars, with a temperature unusually higher than normal. The seven-time world champion notably stated that he felt like sitting in a sauna without shorts after the second free practice session. This intrigued Mercedes a lot and many speculations were put forward.

High temperature and a modified circuit are among the hypotheses considered.

The first hypothesis emphasizes that with the very hot weather conditions in Italy, all teams had to increase the operating temperature of the energy recovery system, which may have also resulted in an increase in the cockpit temperature. Another hypothesis highlights the resurfacing of the Monza track, now much smoother and darker, with much flatter kerbs for better grip of the single-seaters.

With all these changes, the teams would have taken the opportunity to lower the ride height, contributing to increasing friction, especially on straight lines, ultimately leaving little time for cooling to occur, which would worsen the overheating phenomenon. However, Andrew Shovlin, trackside engineering director at Mercedes, explained that the ambient heat, combined with the circuit’s long straight lines and the friction of the cars’ skid blocks with the ground, led to a buildup of heat in the cockpits. With an ambient temperature of 34°C, the internal temperature of the car exceeded that of the drivers’ bodies, making them unable to cool down effectively.

An issue due to a temperature too high in Monza

The main cause was that it was extremely hot in Monza, explained the British engineer to the media, including RacingNews365. The seat and the car are still functioning at a rather high temperature, and the heat generated by the engine, which you try to dissipate. You also have many electronic boxes working intensively and generating their own heat, which you try to evacuate out of the cockpit. Shovlin attributes the very high temperature in Monza to Mercedes’ difficulties, explaining that the characteristics of the track, with its long straight lines, ultimately leave little time for the car to cool down, multiplying ground frictions, which also contributes to increasing the temperature inside the car.

« On the long straight lines of Monza, there are a few places where the plank touches the track, which generates heat through friction, which is then conducted through the floor of the car to the driver’s seat. With an ambient temperature of 34 degrees Celsius, nothing can be lower than this temperature. There are also numerous sources of heat, causing the temperature in the cockpit to rise well above that of the driver’s body. It then becomes very difficult for them to cool down, and the heat just keeps building up », concluded the Mercedes engineer.

A problem that Mercedes must absolutely manage

Despite the numerous complications they had to deal with during the Italian weekend, the two drivers achieved astonishing results, especially in qualifying, with Russell’s third place. However, Shovlin acknowledged the difficult situation the two drivers are in, despite their experience in the discipline, and revealed that the team is actively working to resolve this overheating issue, exploring ways to improve the drivers’ cooling during high-temperature races.

« They are used to piloting in these very difficult environments, but when the races are particularly hot, it’s really extreme and puts them to the test. They do a lot of training, especially in high temperatures, but once the cockpit becomes hotter than them, getting rid of this heat becomes almost impossible. Now, we are looking into ways to improve the situation for our pilots. Within the sport, we are also exploring the addition of additional equipment on the car during these exceptional races to keep the drivers a little cooler, but as I said, it’s a very difficult environment, and that’s why they train so much.

The team hopes to find a solution before the next race in Baku, where the weather conditions are expected to be very hot again, potentially posing the same problem, which could compromise its weekend, as it is still looking for its first podium since the resumption of the championship.