Despite Lewis Hamilton’s Heroics, Mercedes’ Optimism Curbed as Litmus Test of $150,000 Weapon Still Remains Under Scrutiny

“Blimey!” exclaimed all the British fans after Lewis Hamilton somehow managed to secure a podium at Silverstone. Not in those exact words, but it was the best surprise any British F1 fan could get. Their home hero went from starting P7 to finishing P3. McLaren was a surprise competitor for him, but he still managed to see it through to the podium. However, the new front wings worth $150,000 that Mercedes had did not seem to contribute too much to the W14’s pace. And Mercedes’ Technical Director, James Allison, has explained why that was the case.

When the Brackley outfit got upgraded at Monaco, Hamilton felt that there was a considerable change in the performance of his car. But that was not the case at the British GP. The safety car in Lap 33 did bring some luck for him, but the car itself wasn’t quicker. Speaking about the same, Allison said that Silverstone wasn’t exactly where the new front wings should have been tested. And it would take some time to judge the new front wing.

In the post-race debrief video on YouTube, Allison said, “A bit early to tell. The new front wing is of course, designed to make us go faster. But the specific characteristic of this new front wing that we are excited about; is it should improve the balance and performance of the car through the slower range of the corners. Now, Silverstone is famous for lots of things but lots and lots of slow corners is not one of them.”

He even spoke about how the Hungarian GP will give a proper indication of how the front wing was delivering. He elaborated, saying, “In the slower parts of the track, we were looking decently competitive. But, I guess it will only be when we get to Hungary, which is a track made up of almost entirely of slower stuff, that we’ll get to know for sure.”

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The team did not get detailed insights about how the new upgrades work. But Allison feels it was the home crowd’s support that proved to be instrumental in the team’s success at Silverstone.

James Allison Credits the British Crowd for Wholly Supporting Lewis Hamilton

The British GP was expected to be as exciting and engaging as it was. After all, it is Lewis Hamilton’s playground. It is his home circuit, and he has always performed much better there, irrespective of how his car assists him. And as per Allison, the home crowd gathering in big numbers was a big plus for the 7-time world champion and the team.

“Being British of course, having that many people there waving the flag for us is a particular lift,” said Allison. “It’s a weekend that all of us look forward to. Not just for the jingoism but because the crowd is so immense, and it is such a good racing track on top of that.”

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For Mercedes, the Hungarian GP could be the make-or-break point of the season. It would be the ultimate litmus for the front wing that is expected to operate better at such circuits, with slower corners. Can the front wing do something as phenomenal as getting Hamilton in the front row? Now, that would be something to look forward to.