Allison Explains Why Mercedes Used Glue & Tape to Fix Hamilton’s Front Wing Instead of Replacing it

Championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton came together at the British Grand Prix. The contact took Red Bull driver Max Verstappen out of the race. While the Mercedes driver got to continue the race, he had to do so with damage to his front wing.

In their new debrief video, James Allison, Chief Technical Director at Mercedes, explains why the team did not change Lewis’ front wing despite significant damage.

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Lewis’ front wing aerodynamically unaffected: Allison

James Allison explained that the German team used glue and tape on the front wing of Hamilton‘s car instead of replacing the whole front wing because “that was the easiest thing for us to do.

“The front wing, aerodynamically, was completely unaffected by the incident. All the bits that generate downforce and generate performance in the car, they were just puckered,” said the Mercedes Chief Technical Director.

“We knew very, very clearly what the balance of the car was with that wing, on that day. And we didn’t need to disturb the car in any way by putting a new front wing on, because the small manufacturing differences between the front wings might just give us slightly different balance,” said Allison.

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Mercedes technical director gives the team’s view on Hamilton’s penalty

As reported by Reuters, James Allison thought that penalty given to Lewis Hamilton was harsh. He and the German team felt it was a racing incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

“As far as we were concerned, the maneuver that Lewis did was absolutely in line with the FIA’s overtaking guide.”

Allison concluded by stating, “So I did feel that it was harsh to get the penalty. This is about what are the rules to do with overtaking and I didn’t see that Lewis did anything wrong with respect to those rules.”

The stewards gave Lewis a 10-second penalty but he went onto win the race despite that. Hamilton is now just eight points behind Verstappen in the title fight.

Can Mercedes carry forward this newfound momentum into the rest of the season? Let us know what you think!