Mercedes Responds To Disastrous First Lap Incident In Qatar
F1
Mercedes F1 engineering director Andrew Shivlin discussed the first lap incident between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the Mercedes debrief video post-2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
The collision between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell going into turn one destroyed all of Mercedes' hopes for a podium in the race. Even though Russell managed to make a miracle comeback and finish P4, the race could have gone much better for the Silver Arrows.
In the post-race interview, Russell reassured the media that "there was nothing intentional both ways" in relation to the crash. The seven-time world champion took the full blame and apologized for the mistake that caused the crash.
Mercedes team issued a response in a video debrief of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained Hamilton had very limited choices in terms of strategy with his tires after the FIA decision for a mandatory three-stop race.
"We elected to start Lewis on soft tire because of that better grip off the line and the fact that there was unlikely to be any downsides in terms of range."
Both Mercedes drivers had to be aware they might end up side by side going into turn one, as the strategy of Hamilton starting on a softer compound was discussed with the drivers before the race.
"We discussed the start tire choice with both drivers on Sunday morning, and there was always going to be a chance that Lewis on the soft tire was going to get a better start and overtake George before Turn 1,"
Shovlin also explained Hamilton and Russell being on different strategies meant they had to spend the least possible time racing each other. On the other hand, there were no team orders.
"So that was always considered, but they were aware they were on different strategies, it was important that they didn’t lose time racing each other and that was clear, but we weren’t imposing team orders in the race."
Mercedes's chief engineer closed the conversation by calling the turn-one-incident "simply a mistake." At the end of the debrief, he hinted Mercedes thought they had a "really good chance" to get both drivers on the podium.
"We had a really good chance of getting both cars on the podium in Qatar, but hopefully, we will be fighting for the podium in Austin."
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