“Both drivers lost track position caused by Sergio’s spin,” Mercedes laments Sergio Perez’ untimely spin for not ending up on front row
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Sergio and Andrew
Mercedes has shown up well during the first two days at Zandvoort, and its head of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin has indicated that they could have finished higher than P7 and P5 had Red Bull’s Sergio Perez not gone into a spin when the Mercedes duo were on their final Q3 runs.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have shown serious pace so far and the team is determined to continue its good work when it matters the most, and that is, during the fast-approaching Dutch Grand Prix.
Shovlin who was a bit disappointed after Perez’s late spin, while talking about the Silver Arrows outing, said, “After a really difficult qualifying session last week, it’s been encouraging to see that we have been able to get the car and tires in a better place throughout free practice and qualifying.“
“Both drivers lost positions with the yellow flag caused by Sergio’s spin, which is frustrating when it’s as tight as it was today but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”
Moreover, Hamilton feels that he could have secured the front row alongside Max Verstappen, had Perez not gone into a spin during his final Q3 lap.
Also Read: ‘Not fast enough today’: Valtteri Bottas gives his verdict on a disappointing qualifying session
Mercedes expect teams to deploy different race strategies during the Dutch GP
The Silver Arrows, so far, have had one of their better outings compared to their recent races, and Andrew Shovlin who is at the heart of things when it comes to the Brackley-based-teams race strategy has said, “We did some race work this morning during final practice and both drivers were encouraged by the way the car was handling and looking after its tires, so that will hopefully bode well for tomorrow.”
“It’s also hard to know where everyone is going to go on strategy for tomorrow. There wasn’t a lot of long-run data due to a number of red flags so it may be we see a range of strategies up and down the grid that could give us the opportunity.“
“We do normally race better than we qualify and if that proves to be the case, we should be able to make some good progress in the race tomorrow”
Mercedes is banking on its superior race pace compared to the one-lap pace, however, Zandvoort is not well known for supporting overtaking, and thus, the race could prove to be a tough nut to crack for Mercedes if they are eyeing a podium finishes with both its cars.
Also Read: “Max nailed it,” Christian Horner praised Max Verstappen for a clutch pole at the Dutch GP
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)