Mercedes faces severe punishment – Silver Arrows’ last resort: Mercedes face penalty if curfew broken again – The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team is treading carefully as it heads into the final stretch of the season, unable to afford any more slip-ups after a practice accident left George Russell’s car badly damaged.

Should another incident necessitate a breach of the team’s curfew, both Mercedes cars could face a pit-lane start – a consequence the team is keen to avoid.

 

 

 

A costly crash in Mexico City

Trouble began when George Russell lost control during the second practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Russell veered off the track in the fast middle sector and hit the barriers, causing extensive damage to his car.

In order to get the car ready for Saturday’s action, the Mercedes crew were forced to work through the night on the repairs, ultimately breaking the curfew.

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Long nights, hard work: Mercedes crew goes into overdrive

Race engineer Andrew Shovlin gave a candid account of the gruelling work that went into rescuing Russell’s car. The team worked tirelessly through the night, with only a few hours rest before returning to the garage to finish the job.

“The team worked until the early hours of the morning, then slept for a few hours and came back,” explained Shovlin. The crew’s determination was evident, with Lewis Hamilton’s team even stepping in to help with Russell’s car repairs once their own work was done.

“With a chassis swap you’re essentially starting from scratch, but with both crews working together you can achieve the near impossible and build a car in a matter of hours,” said Shovlin.

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No more curfew ‘jokers’ for Mercedes

The repair job in Mexico marked the last of Mercedes’ allotted curfew “jokers” for the 2024 season. Formula One regulations allow each team a limited number of curfew exceptions, but Mercedes have now exhausted their limit, having already used a joker in Hungary. That leaves the team with a severe consequence if another accident necessitates a similar night’s work.

“If we have to break the curfew on another Friday night, both cars will start from the pit lane, as per the sporting regulations,” confirmed Shovlin.

This rule is designed to keep the team personnel rested and reduce the chance of fatigue-related mistakes. Any further late-night repairs could be prohibitively expensive for Mercedes’ championship ambitions, as both Hamilton and Russell would be forced to start from the pit lane.

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Strategic approach to avoid curfew breaches

Shovlin revealed that Mercedes have contingency plans in place should another emergency arise. In the event of serious damage during practice, Mercedes would probably prioritise getting at least one car ready for qualifying, even if it meant missing the third session.

“It would probably mean that one car would not be ready for the third session,” he explained.

The team would then work hard in the limited time of FP3 (Free Practice 3) to get the car ready for qualifying and avoid a pit lane start penalty.

“You just come on Saturday morning as soon as you can and work as long as you can during FP3 to get the car ready in time for qualifying,” said Shovlin, adding, “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we don’t find ourselves in that situation.”

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More damage during the race

While the efforts of the Mercedes crew saved Russell’s car in time for qualifying, his troubles weren’t over. During Sunday’s race, Russell suffered another setback, a damaged front wing that affected his car’s performance and left him struggling against team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Shovlin explained the incident that led to the front wing damage, which was clearly captured by television cameras. During an overtaking manoeuvre, Russell was forced into the middle of the track, where he hit a bump at high speed.

“There’s a big bump there and he hit it at full speed,” explained Shovlin.

“When you have DRS, the speed of the car increases because of the reduced drag, but it also loses some downforce on the rear wing, which puts more pressure on the front wing and pushes it lower on the road”.

As a result, the car’s bib hit the bump hard enough to damage the wing flap.

“The car is running extremely low and the shock from the impact was just enough to damage the flap,” said Shovlin. The team is now looking at measures to ensure the car can withstand similar conditions in future races, although Shovlin noted that Russell’s case was an “extreme” scenario.

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Managing the damage: Russell’s tactical response

Russell managed to avoid a complete retirement by skilfully managing the damaged car. Fortunately, the flap remained attached, albeit forced into its lowest position. This created an aero imbalance that made the car prone to understeer. Despite this, Russell adapted his driving style to overcome the problem without having to pit for repairs.

“He was able to continue safely, but he had to drive around the problem,” said Shovlin, adding that Russell’s efforts minimised the loss of time and allowed him to complete the race.

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Prioritising reliability and preparation

Mercedes are likely to focus on minimising risk in the final rounds of the season, especially in the high speed sectors where crashes can easily lead to extensive damage.

The team may also refine the car’s set-up to reduce the likelihood of mechanical stress on key components, such as the front wing, in order to avoid problems like the one Russell experienced in Mexico.

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A team effort to reach the finish line

In the high-stakes world of Formula One, a pit-lane start can be a serious disadvantage, costing valuable points and podium positions. Mercedes’ teamwork in Mexico showed just how far they’re willing to go to keep both cars on the grid and competitive. However, with no further leniency allowed on curfews, the team’s technical staff and drivers alike will need to exercise careful judgement and a collaborative approach to finish the season without further penalties.

As the 2024 season draws to a close, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team is under unique pressure to strike a delicate balance between aggressive performance and meticulous caution.

The Silver Arrows’ success or failure could well hinge on their ability to avoid another pitlane start – a feat that will require skill, strategy and a little bit of luck.

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Liam Lawson enjoyed the dream start to his Formula One career when he substituted for the injured Daniel Ricciardo for five Grand Prix weekends last in the autumn of 2023. The New Zealander finished ahead of his team mate Yuki Tsunoda in four of their five outings together and was even the topic of paddock whispers to replace Daniel Ricciardo at the start of this year.

It appeared that Christian Horner got his way and Ricciardo was retained in the V-CARB pairing for 2024 even though Dr. Marko insisted he wanted to see Lawson get a full time drive for part of this year. Yet the widely hoped for the comeback of the Aussie into something like his previous form failed to materialise and Lawson was given six races to prove his worth.

Liam returned to F1 with a bang, electing against hiss team’s advice to run a one stop race at the USGP. As it turned out the event which is usually a two stop strategy became a one stopper for many of the field given the new asphalt had reduced sliding and tyre wear…READ MORE ON THIS STORY