Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes his team has identified the cause behind the recent slump in form for the Silver Arrows. Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in particular, has struggled in the last three races, earning zero championship points due to two retirements. Wolff hopes that by fitting the old rear axle to the cars, Mercedes can turn the tide for both drivers.
“The worst performance of the season,” is how George Russell described the course of the Belgian GP. According to the driver, his W16 was ‘harder to control’ at Spa-Francorchamps than at the start of the season. Mercedes has been dealing with a dip in form in recent races, after both drivers landed on the podium in Canada. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff explains how the recent slump is due to a new rear axle.
“It was not an aerodynamics issue,” Wolff candidly tells Sky Deutschland. “The problem with the new rear axle, which we’ve used for a few races, was mainly that the rear became completely unstable and therefore gave the drivers absolutely no confidence.” Mercedes therefore decided to screw the old part back onto the cars in Hungary. “With the old rear axle, we do have that confidence again. Both drivers say the problem has disappeared, so that’s a clear improvement.”
Improvement in Hungary
The change seems to be bearing fruit immediately, as both drivers made it into the top ten during the first two free practice sessions. Russell confirmed that he indeed has more confidence behind the wheel. “It always feels good when you’re a bit higher up the leaderboard,” said the Brit on Friday. “But we still need to find that last bit of pace before everything starts to fall into place for us again. It wasn’t a breakthrough, but we didn’t expect it to be. It certainly felt nicer to drive the car.”