Mercedes Adopts New Strategy for Upgrades: Hamilton’s Generosity and Team’s Future Plans Unveiled

Mercedes attributes Lewis Hamilton's choice for simplifying their decision on the front wing in Monaco

Mercedes explains the reason behind choosing George Russell for the new Mercedes front wing instead of Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes has announced their strategy to rotate between their drivers when introducing new enhancements, following Lewis Hamilton's decision to let George Russell test the updated front wing first during the Monaco Grand Prix.

For the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes had only a single new front wing in their inventory, which was mounted on Russell's vehicle.

Following the weekend, it emerged that Hamilton gave his teammate the go-ahead to use it, sidestepping the necessity for a "coin-toss" decision. This was due to concerns over damaging the component, which could have resulted in starting from the pit lane because of parc ferme rules.

Generally, teams opt to provide the driver who is leading in the points standings with the first upgrade, yet it appears this is not the approach Mercedes is taking.

Should Mercedes introduce only one update and have it ready for a specific weekend, they will switch its use between the drivers.

"Mercedes aims to have sufficient quantities of that wing ready for the Montreal race," explained Andrew Shovlin, the trackside engineering director at Mercedes, in their most recent YouTube video. "Typically, you'd consider having enough means at least three, accounting for one per car plus an extra as a backup in case of any incidents. However, we didn't produce three simultaneously.

"We start with the initial piece, followed by the next, and then the third. As a result, we managed to prepare one in time for Monaco, ready to be utilized from Friday throughout the weekend. Some time back, the drivers questioned, 'Why do we postpone until we have a complete set? Why not allow one of us to test it out?'"

"We reached a consensus that, considering the current performance level of the team, enhancement and learning are essential. It's beneficial to have varied specifications on the car for this purpose. Therefore, we concurred with the drivers that, given our present circumstances, we would be pleased to introduce one to the track – a decision that both drivers welcomed."

"The challenging aspect was determining who should be in charge of it. In that regard, Lewis suggested, 'since we're embarking on this without full components, let's have George take the lead in Monaco.' He mentioned that in upcoming races, when we introduce a singular update, we'll take turns moving forward. Lewis actually simplified that decision for us significantly."

Mercedes arguably had their best performance of the year during the last race in the principality, with Russell starting just 0.3 seconds behind the pole position and ultimately crossing the finish line in fifth place, ahead of Max Verstappen.

Shovlin acknowledged that due to Monaco's distinct characteristics, the full advantage of the newly introduced front wing is likely to be realized by the time the Barcelona race takes place.

"He further mentioned that teams avoid bringing upgrade kits to Monaco due to the circuit's inherently slow speeds."

The bustling activity and brief straightaways make it challenging to assess anything. However, the data we've analyzed indicates it was enhancing performance. It was providing an advantage. Regarding the car's handling, George was content with it and sensed it was moving towards improvement.

"We're certainly pleased with the results we've observed so far. Our understanding will deepen with the Montreal experience, and especially once we reach a circuit like Barcelona that offers a broader spectrum of cornering speeds, that's where we'll truly begin to gather insights."

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