The Dutch GP stalled Mercedes’s momentum as the team grappled with an underperforming car. The starlet Lewis Hamilton stepped into Zandvoort with a couple of victories but failed to enter the top five. Moreover, he had to endure a three-grid penalty for hindering Sergio Perez. Thus, the Briton was pushed out of position during the Saturday Qualifying.
However, the experienced racer throttled his way up to end the race at P8 despite starting from P14. Meanwhile, he had a chance to finish higher, which a faulty Mercedes strategy destroyed. Therefore, James Allison explained the entire conundrum, leading to a revised strategy.
What Forced Mercedes Down An Unplanned Route?
Lewis Hamilton had a dull Dutch GP. He was eliminated in Q2 during the Qualifying. To further aggravate his woes, the Briton received a three-grid penalty for impeding Checo. Although the Mercedes superstar had little chance of scoring a point, he still managed to bag four. The 39-year-old racer started on soft tyres and soon entered the top ten. Then, he was pitted on lap 24 for hard tyres until lap 49. Subsequently, Hamilton had to swap the hard compounds with a pair of softs. However, according to Mercedes’s technical head, this was not a part of their initial strategy. The plan was not competitive, as Hamilton had to finish at P8, one spot below his teammate.
During the Dutch GP debrief, James Allison replied to a question about whether a soft/medium strategy would have been a better option. However, he claimed hard tyres were the best bid for the race. Moroever, Allison believes the real pick was between a one-stop or two-stop strategy. But, given Hamilton’s starting position, soft was a good choice to start the stint. Further, the switch to hard was also a perfect choice, given the dynamics of the race. However, switching to a two-stop plan was due to a lock-up, damaging the tyres. The team had to opt for a defensive strategy, which was the only option to finish the race. Moreover, the British engineer accepted the plan was less effective than a soft/hard layout. Perhaps the team had no way out, as the tyre degradation hindered the W15’s pace. Thus, when the black marks were cleared, Hamilton felt much better and finished the race comfortably.
“Car Was On A Knife Edge,” James Allison Breaks Down Mercedes Issue
James Allison acknowledged the off-pace W15 due to a ‘knife edge’ development. He pointed out the faulty rears, which made balancing a daunting task. Even a gust would push the drivers off-rail, increasing the track temperature. Moreover, no cool-down straights jeopardize the entire lap once the temperature rises.
