Mercedes’ Andrew Shovlin: “We’re losing a lot of time on the straights”

Andrew Shovlin felt the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team were lacking pace over a single lap at the Suzuka International Racing Course on Saturday, and it meant a difficult Qualifying session for the team.

Lewis Hamilton was the best placed Mercedes driver in Qualifying in sixth, while George Russell was only eighth as the BWT Alpine F1 Team showed good pace to interject themselves in the battle for the third row. 

They were a long way off the pace of both Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari, however, and Shovlin, the Track Engineering Director at Mercedes, says they were losing a lot of time compared to their rivals on the straights, and the compromises they made to change that affected them in the corners.

“We’ve been struggling with the car in the dry today; the race work in the morning wasn’t bad but the single lap was proving difficult, and the tyres just weren’t biting,” said Shovlin.  “We’re losing a lot of time on the straights, but the corners are not especially strong either.

“By qualifying the balance was in a reasonable place but the lap time just wasn’t coming.”

Shovlin says Mercedes continued to run with more downforce than they would have liked during Qualifying due to the high possibility of rain during Sunday’s race, and should the weather turn, he feels the team could be in a good place.

“We stayed on the higher rear wing levels as the degradation in the morning was very high and there is a growing risk of rain in tomorrow’s race,” he said.  “In both of those situations, the wing level should be a benefit.

“It will not be a benefit getting past the Alpine cars, though, which we need to do early if we stand any chance of getting into a race with Red Bull and Ferrari.”