George Russell explains why Mercedes has already removed the floor upgrades from the W15. The German team brought the upgrades specifically to Spa, but the new parts were already absent during the qualification. According to the Brit, the team’s decision has nothing to do with the performance of the upgrades themselves.
Mercedes brought a floor upgrade to Spa-Francorchamps, but removed it from both cars prior to the qualification. Lewis Hamilton subsequently qualified fourth, while Russell set the seventh fastest time. On Friday, both drivers struggled with the W15 at Spa-Francorchamps, but according to Russell, this was not due to the new floor.
READ ALSO: Lewis Hamilton skeptical after first training in Spa: ‘Car feels completely different’
Challenges Faced by Mercedes in the Past Three Years
“We have had a tough time here over the past three years, and the fluctuations in the performance of all teams from circuit to circuit are quite large,” explains Russell. “I think it was important for us to fall back on something we know. We want to see during the race if Spa itself is a challenge for us, because we are quite sure of that, unlike the upgrade. The upgrades were not substantial, they are just part of the development over the course of the year. We are quite sure that those upgrades are working as expected.”
Spa: A Difficult Circuit for Mercedes
Russell could not explain why Mercedes often struggles at Spa, but can perform at Barcelona and Silverstone. These two circuits have a similar mix of high and low-speed corners. “It’s been three years in a row that we are very fast in Silverstone, and have a hard time in Spa,” says Russell. “On paper, you would say that it’s not exactly the same type of circuit, but they have high-speed corners here, a bit of low speed, the same as Silverstone. We need to try to understand why that is.”
