Mercedes Unveils Strategy Behind Hamilton’s Pit Lane Start and Teases Major F1 Upgrade Ahead

Mercedes hints at major improvements while clarifying why Lewis Hamilton began from the pit lane in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Mercedes has shed light on the factors that led to Lewis Hamilton beginning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane, hinting at a major F1 upgrade package.

Despite securing the seventh position on the grid in Baku, Mercedes chose to have Hamilton begin the race from the pit lane.

Mercedes has chosen to equip Hamilton with an additional power unit in his component selection for the remainder of the year.

Nonetheless, a malfunction in the engine while in Australia made it clear to Mercedes that this outcome was unavoidable.

Facing challenges in surpassing Singapore, and with sprint weekends on the horizon, Mercedes chose to compromise Hamilton's weekend, despite him securing a commendable seventh place on the starting grid.

Andrew Shovlin, the chief engineer at the trackside for Mercedes, has disclosed that the team is planning a major upgrade for their car in the upcoming races.

Discussing the choice to have Hamilton begin from the pit lane in Baku, Shovlin mentioned on Mercedes' YouTube channel, "Lewis's situation actually traces back to Melbourne, where we experienced a failure with a very new power unit."

"For quite some time, we knew that adding an additional power unit to our collection was necessary to ensure we could finish the season without the danger of experiencing a failure mid-race. That's certainly a situation we aim to avoid."

The inquiry centered on the ideal location for our action. Typically, starting from the pit lane when you're in seventh place on the grid isn't the strategy of choice, given the solid chance to earn points. However, a key consideration for us has been the noticeable decline in our performance of late. Looking ahead, we're optimistic about an upcoming upgrade package.

"We aim to improve our standing. Our goal was to overcome the setback of starting from the pit lane, ensuring we have a vehicle capable of contending for podiums based on its performance."

"That was the actual rationale. Now that it's in the past, we're eagerly anticipating the upcoming season. Especially for Lewis, he's expected to have dependable and robust Mercedes engines for the future competitions."

Recently, Mercedes has fallen behind in rankings due to Ferrari's comeback.

George Russell moved up to third place in the Azerbaijan race after an altercation on the track involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

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