Max Verstappen and Red Bull have dominated the Formula 1 grid for the majority of the 2023 season. Although Mercedes have come close, they were never able to challenge Red Bull, except for the Singapore Grand Prix. However, Mercedes’ technical director, James Allison has revealed some new information in regards to Mercedes’ pace on track.
Mercedes are bringing in a new upgrade for the United States Grand Prix this weekend. This upgrade is speculated to have a major increase in performance. If this upgrade is successful, they will implement the same for their 2024 car as well.
James Allison on the new floor: “It should be good at any circuit, for the remained of the year. It’s not transformative, should be about a tenth of a second. It’s in the direction we think it’s decent – both for producing downforce in the right place but also for being, hopefully, resistant to the bounciness that all these cars nibble at as soon as you start to try and get much downforce from them.”
#F1: James Allison reveals that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have dedicated time, outside of race weekends, to help the engineers with the 2024 car.
“The drivers have been good enough to put aside time for us in a slightly cooler environment of home. That has proved useful;…
— deni (@fiagirly) October 18, 2023
Mercedes will be hoping that the new floor does not make the car bounce on the straights. With this new upgrade, Lewis Hamilton will be looking to take 2nd place from Sergio Perez. This could put Perez’s future in trouble with Red Bull.
It has been rumored that Red Bull has given an ultimatum to Sergio Perez. If he does not finish 2nd in the WDC, he could be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. The Mexican driver’s current contract is valid until the end fo the 2024 season. It is unclear if Red Bull has added any performance clauses to this contract.
Lewis Hamilton the biggest reason behind Mercedes’ mounting 2024 F1 desperation?
Although the upgrade is good news for Mercedes fans, it has puzzled a few as to why they are bringing this upgrade this year and not saving it for next year to fight for the Championship. There are 2 reasons to this.
The new floor is expected to increase the downforce. However, a new problem could arise with this upgrade. Porpoising was a major issue for the teams last year. Although all the teams have fixed this issue with a bit of assistance from the FIA, the issue could still come back if the downforce is increased by too much.
To make sure that they don’t face this problem next year while fighting for the Championship, Mercedes is using the remainder of the season to test this new floor and fix any new problems that arise due to this upgrade.
⚠️ | Motorsport Italy reports that the impression is that Sergio Pérez in fact does have an ultimatum.
He will have to convince the team in the next 5 races (until the end of the season).
If he fails to convince the team, Ricciardo would likely be his replacement.#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/Zu8YfdNrde
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 19, 2023
The other reason for bringing this upgrade with just 5 races remaining is Lewis Hamilton. Due to his recent performances and Sergio Perez’s string of poor performances, Hamilton is only 30 points away from taking 2nd place. The team and Hamilton are hoping that this new upgrade brings them level to Red Bull. This would allow Lewis Hamilton to take 2nd place from Sergio Perez.
The Mexican driver is also under a lot of pressure from Red Bull. His string of poor performances has put him on the hot seat for the 2024 season. There are speculations indicating that Daniel Ricciardo is being prepared to replace him in Red Bull.
If Perez hopes to retain his seat, he will be hoping to keep 2nd place in the Championship. Do you think Lewis Hamilton can take 2nd place from Sergio Perez? Post your answers in the comment section below.
