Janice R. Andrews
Mercedes-AMG Petronas has suspended further car development for the remainder of the Formula 1 season following a string of expensive accidents. The team’s budget, already constrained by F1’s cost cap regulations, has been severely impacted by crashes involving Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at various race weekends.
The financial strain began with Antonelli’s incident at Monza and escalated with Russell’s accidents during qualifying in Austin and practice in Mexico. The extensive damage required significant repairs, including a complete chassis replacement, pushing the team to its financial limits.
Team Principal Toto Wolff acknowledged the challenging situation, noting that while some minor upgrades (including two new floors) will be introduced in Brazil, no further developments are planned. The Mexico crash was particularly costly, requiring a new chassis that severely impacted their remaining budget.
Despite these setbacks, Mercedes won’t restrict their drivers’ racing style. Wolff expressed confidence in both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s abilities, though he did issue a cautionary reminder to Russell about aggressive defensive maneuvers during a recent race.
For the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix, Mercedes plans to experiment with different setups between their drivers. This strategy aims to evaluate performance and stability, particularly given concerns about possible aerodynamic imbalances in their latest upgrade package. Russell’s repaired car from Austin will be ready for Brazil, and the team might test different floor configurations between the two drivers.
The engineering team is currently investigating whether recent crashes are related to car instability from the newest upgrades or driver-related factors. Two significant incidents at the same corner in Austin have raised questions about the car’s stability under its new configuration. With further development now impossible this season, Mercedes must focus on optimizing their existing package while preventing additional costly accidents.
