Mercedes Concedes Doubts Over Spa New Floor Amid Dutch GP Struggles
As the Formula 1 season unfolds, Mercedes has been forced to reassess its Spa new floor following a disappointing performance at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix. The German manufacturer had introduced its latest upgraded floor at the Belgian GP, but after some confusing results from Friday practice, it was removed from the car. Despite being convinced about the floor’s potential, the team opted to commit to racing with it for the remainder of the Zandvoort weekend.
However, a lackluster performance throughout the event, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing well behind race winner Lando Norris, has raised questions about the new design’s effectiveness. Technical director James Allison has suggested that the new floor may have brought negative balance characteristics, which could be costing more lap time than it gains.
“Simple answer is, we don’t fully know… We definitely know that we didn’t have a well-balanced car this weekend. That’s where most of our pace went.”
According to Allison, the team’s data and on-track analysis show that the new floor does indeed produce more downforce than the previous specification. Nevertheless, he conceded that it could have an adverse impact on the car’s balance. Speaking in Mercedes’ regular post-race debrief video, Allison stated:
“We, for whatever reason, managed to produce a car that was too on a knife edge… It was too ready to snap at the rear, for the rear to lose grip and contact with the road when the drivers are trying to hustle it.”
The disappointing qualifying performances of both Russell and Hamilton were attributed to poor balance in Zandvoort, which led to overheating tyres.
As Mercedes continues to investigate the performance of its new floor, Allison emphasized the importance of finding a balanced car. He noted:
“Right now, we know it measured the downforce, but we’re not certain that it delivered good balance. Something we need to investigate as we go on through the year.”
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