Last weekend, Mercedes pushed Lewis Hamilton’s car setup too far in Azerbaijan and could no longer cause him such pain, the Formula One team’s head of strategy said on Wednesday.
The seven-time world champion suffered severe back pain from struggling with his bouncing car in Baku and said “he’s praying for it to end.“
Team boss Toto Wolff has raised some concerns about Hamilton being able to race in Canada this weekend but strategy boss James Vowles confirmed in an interview that drivers will compete in Montreal.
“He’s an elite athlete that will push the limits of his endurance and the car and that’s what Formula 1 drivers do, that’s what makes them special,” Vowles said.
“However, on this occasion we have pushed our package and driver too far, we are causing them considerable discomfort and we simply cannot do it again.
“We now have a responsibility to make sure this doesn’t continue,” he added, pointing out that other drivers are also suffering.
Hamilton finished fourth in Baku, with George Russell in third after both Ferrari drivers retired.
F1 has rolled out a major rule improvement this season and the changes have left the cars ‘messed up’ – jumping up and down in a straight line as the aerodynamic effect on the ground is suddenly lost .
Vowles says there is a difference between porpoising, bouncing and bottoming.
“I’m confident we’ve made a step forward in terms of dolphins but we obviously have the hatching and look almost identical on the outside, but there’s a slight difference between the two,” he said. more.
Vowles said progress in tackling the porter issue at the Spanish Grand Prix has allowed the team to reduce ride altitude and run the car lower than the ground, though he added that revealed another problem .
The car now “hits the deck” quite hard with the bottom creating a noticeable bounce in Baku.
Vowles said Montreal would not be significantly different.
“I think we are still going to have a package that is not ahead in terms of achievement,” he said.
“Red Bull and Ferrari will still be the benchmark against which we have to compare ourselves.
“However, I think the big gap you saw in qualifying in Baku probably won’t be as big as it was in Montreal.”
