Lewis Hamilton has stuck with the updated Mercedes W15 floor in Mexico, leaving team mate George Russell with the older spec that he raced in the US GP.
The team only had two floors in Austin, and Russell damaged his when he crashed heavily in Q3.
Having qualified only 19th Hamilton offered Russell the use of his for the race, but given the time needed to make the swap from new to old it was decided that Hamilton would keep it, and Russell would go back to the earlier version.
In the race Hamilton spun off, although the new floor wasn’t damaged. He was given the first call on running it in Mexico, and has decided to persevere with it in the belief that it will ultimately be better.
As there is still only one available example Russell will continue with the old one.
After his spin in the race Hamilton was left somewhat perplexed, but having studied the data with his engineers he now has a better idea of what happened.
“We can see in the data that we have three wheeling,” he said. “So the left wheel starts moving, so the car is jacking. Basically, we can see on the rear the ride height oscillating a lot, so 12 to 15mm difference going into the corner, and you can see a 40 km/h tail wind.
“So you can imagine, there’s a small window where the downforce is perfect, and if you’re too high, then you fall off the peak. And the other side, you go over the peak.
“So I think it’s a combination of all those things. If you watch the video, the car is bouncing, the left wheel starts bouncing, and then I think it just loses load.
“And I think the floor is probably a little bit more sensitive, maybe, than the previous floor. But I’ve kept it on this weekend because it’s a much less bouncy circuit, and we need to get more data on everything.”
Asked by formu1a.uno about his offer to loan his floor for the Austin race he smiled at Russell.
“I kind of wish you did take it!” he joked. “I think it’s just ultimately I’m here to help in whatever way I can, trying to do whatever is best for the team, really.
“But in the end of the day, that was not needed, and George did a great job with the other package.
“And this weekend George is on the back the same package as last weekend, so we will get a good read. The upgrade should be better, but it’ll be interesting to see if there is much difference between the two.”
Hamilton admitted that it wasn’t easy to understand what happened in Austin, with the car proving fast on Friday before becoming difficult.
“Definitely a challenge, for sure,” he said. “Up until the last race, we’ve had a lot of confidence in the car. We’ve been improving and had our challenges, but generally, George and I were really more comfortable with throwing the car into corners, and it’s there for you.
“And then we start the last weekend… Nobody spins in Turn 3, because it’s the easiest corner on the track! And I have a spin in Turn 3 in P1. George has a crash in qualifying, and I lose the rear end completely in the race. So definitely something that was unexpected to both of us.
“George did a great job on Sunday with the old package. I’m hoping that the [new] package can be better this weekend. We’ll see. And yeah, it is frustrating. That’s the way it’s been. And we just try and to do the best job we can what we have.”
Asked if it felt odd that he was pressing on with Mercedes development while knowing that he’s going to Ferrari Hamilton downplayed the suggestion.
“I wouldn’t say that it feels odd,” he noted. “I think ultimately every bit of input that I put in now, along with George’s, for example, is contributing to the development forwards. But that’s the job, that’s what I’m paid for.
“I’m not holding anything back from any of our sessions. And at the end of the day, this is a team that I’ve been successful with for many, many, many years, and I want the team to continue to have success. That’s just how I’m wired. That’s how I am. Maybe other people do it differently.”
