The Mercedes victory in Birtihs shocked everyone in the paddock. The team, struggling to finish in the top five, suddenly won two consecutive races. While Russell’s Austrian GP win was an outcome of the Verstappen-Norris clash, Hamilton’s win was a pure showcase of skill and talent. The victory was after consistent efforts to evolve the W15 car, which had been struggling with aerodynamic woes.
The British GP could have been more successful for Mercedes if they had avoided the water system failure on Russell’s W15. Due to the issue, the young British driver had to retire on the 34th lap, and the Silver Arrows missed out on some crucial points. The team’s trackside engineer explained why the move was necessary to safeguard Russell from grid penalties.
Andrew Shovlin Explains The Decision To Retire Pole-Sitter George Russell During The British GP
While the entire Mercedes team erupted with joy after Hamilton’s 104th career win, the outing could have been better for Russell. During the race debriefs, trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin explained the entire situation, including how they had predicted the issue a few laps earlier. Shovlin disclosed that the technical team had closely observed the car since its first stint. Further, he said the water system failure started dripping, and the decision to stop the car was to safeguard the power unit. Moreover, according to Shovlin, the technical crew was aware that the car might not be able to cross the finish line, as the water would have destroyed the power unit. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to continue racing, which could damage the entire engine. Thus, it was more of a preventative move to avoid penalties on the upcoming weekends.
Russell’s W15 was installed with new components, such as an internal combustion engine, a new motor generator unit heat, and a new motor generator unit kinetic. This brings the total changes made to the power unit to three, which is one short of incurring a penalty. Therefore, if the Mercedes squad had pushed the W15 to finish the race, they would have faced certain penalties later in the season. Although it was painful to retire the pole-sitter, it was required to safeguard him from future demerit points.
Hamilton Issues Verstappen-Norris Warning Ahead Of Hungary GP
While everyone was praising Lewis Hamilton, he told the media that ‘there’s a long way to go.’ According to the nine-time British GP winner, the W15 is still not the fastest car on the grid, but it is closer to being one.
Moreover, Hamilton believes that with the upcoming upgrades, the team will consistently compete for the top spots. Currently, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are the only two drivers who consistently compete for the top spots.
