Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will hope to benefit from a United States Grand Prix boost as Mercedes hope to fend off the challenge of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.
This weekend’s United States Grand Prix will feature the “last significant upgrade” for the season, according to Toto Wolff of the Mercedes team.
The race for second place in the constructors’ championship is still close between Mercedes and Ferrari. The team has already stated that it will keep working on the W14 car until the end of the season in an effort to hold off Ferrari.
The Silver Arrows’ last significant change will be to the vehicle for this weekend’s racing in Austin. In the team’s official preview of the competition, team principal Wolff made this statement.
We have a busy couple of weeks coming up as the season heads towards its conclusion, starting with a triple-header in the USA, Mexico and Brazil,” said the Austrian, who did not travel to the last two events as he recovered from knee surgery.
Racing at the Circuit of the Americas is always a blast. The city is embracing F1 with open arms and there is a fantastic atmosphere. One of the most difficult modern tracks, COTA provides drivers with a thrilling experience.
The final significant change we will make to the track this year is a modified floor, which we will bring with us. Hopefully, it will result in a modest gain, but more importantly, it marks another significant step in determining our course of development for the W15.
In recent races, the competition for second in the constructors’ has intensified. To increase our advantage, we’ll keep working hard, keep pushing, and try to score as many points as we can.
The team had a fantastic chance to pull away from Ferrari last time out in Qatar when Carlos Sainz was unable to compete due to a fuel system leak. Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, was knocked out of the race when he and George Russell collided at the first corner, but his teammate recovered to place fourth and beat Charles Leclerc.
Russell was urged to concentrate on the task at hand by Wolff, who radioed in from home, but he has only recently made his first public comments about the altercation. The final match in Qatar was a case of what might have been, he continued. You should never allow your vehicles to collide. It was annoying to have to leave a lot of points on.
It was encouraging though to see how the drivers and the team reacted. Both Lewis and George know the team comes first and do not ever intend to jeopardise that. I am sure we will all grow from this moment. We’re now focused on Austin and making sure we get the most out of each upcoming weekend.”