by The fallout from the British Grand Prix has brought another round of F1 news and Mercedes’ upgrades are under scrutiny.
Lewis Hamilton expressed concerns about the W14’s new parts for the weekend preventing them from getting back into contention as he had hoped, and team principal Toto Wolff was asked more about what was going on with the car.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper
There’s a lot coming your way in the days following the British Grand Prix, so here’s what you need to know to keep up.
Toto Wolff questioned about Mercedes sidepod error
With Mercedes taking substantial steps to change their car concept, work continues on the Silver Arrows to bring them closer to the front of the field.
With the zero pods ditched for a more conventional sidepod intake concept and Red Bull still holding a big lead up front, when of course there will be more factors at play, he was asked if the team had a fundamental problem with that. area of the car and why Mercedes hasn’t taken a more Red Bull-esque approach to it.
He told media including PlanetF1.com: “We had the sidepod concept and body very early in the tunnel to see what avenues it would open up and how much it would add to performance.
“And the relative loss of downforce, as we measure it, was significant.”
Read more: Toto Wolff wondered if Mercedes has a fundamental sidepod problem
Lewis Hamilton issues disturbing verdict on W14 upgrades
Mercedes brought a new front wing to the British Grand Prix as part of their efforts to improve this season, but the large-scale changes at McLaren catapulted both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for Mercedes in the competitive order over the weekend.
While Lewis Hamilton managed to make his way to the podium and the Safety Car played its part in shortening his pit stop and gaining places, the seven-time world champion was still concerned about the effect, or lack thereof, of the upgrades. on his car.
“I think ultimately because obviously we had a really bad race last week and we knew we were going to get an upgrade here so we were all very hopeful about the step we were going to take hopefully this weekend and bring us closer” , he told media outlets including PlanetF1.com.
“Unfortunately, to our disappointment, we didn’t take that step, and to end up sixth over seventh just wasn’t a great feeling.”
Read more: Lewis Hamilton gives worrying verdict on Mercedes’ Silverstone upgrade
Sergio Perez was told by Christian Horner to ‘sort out his qualifying’
Sergio Perez went out of Q3 for the fifth race in a row by qualifying 16th at Silverstone, and while team boss Christian Horner praised another recovery drive from the Mexican, he wants him to get his pace up as soon as possible on Saturday.
Perez recovered to sixth on Sunday, but lost even more ground to race winner Max Verstappen, who now has a whopping 99 point lead in the World Championship.
“It’s frustrating for him to have to fight back all the time, but he has to sort out his qualifying on Saturday and as a team we will do our best to support him in that,” Horner told media outlets including PlanetF1. .com on Silverstone.
“It’s just one of those things that I think like in all sports, 90% of it is in the head, and I think he just needs a good run and he’ll find his momentum again.”
Read more: Christian Horner puts pressure on Sergio Perez as barren Q3 run stretches further
Big changes behind the scenes at Alpine
Bruno Famin has been promoted to Vice President of Alpine Motorsports, having previously been in charge of the team’s power unit division.
This is a particularly significant change as all motorsport team bosses, including Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, will now report directly to him on a daily basis about his work with the Formula 1 team.
Famin will now be placed between Szafnauer and not-so-complimentary CEO Laurent Rossi, who made his feelings clear earlier this season about how his team was doing in a candid manner, but dismissed the team’s “amateurishness” and “mediocre, bad” . performances.
Read more: Alpine announces key appointment to oversee F1 team after restructuring
Ferrari hit back at George Russell’s complaints
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur found it scathing that George Russell complained about Charles Leclerc’s defense against him at Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Russell complained on team radio about Leclerc “moving under braking” as the two battled for fourth on the road in the early stages, but when asked, Vasseur’s response was blunt: “Yes, I can give you some showing action from the start of the season,” he joked to media outlets including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone. “He did some good ones too. That’s life.”
Read more: Ferrari fires back at George Russell after complaints about Charles Leclerc
