Shovlin details the reasons for Mercedes' surprising late-season progress

First surprised by the domination of Mercedes in Singaporean land, Charles Leclerc left Marina Bay realizing the fact that the Team Ferrari had just been relegated to the rank of fourth force on the grid, in favor of McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes. Indeed, while Kimi Antonelli and George Russell have both just completed two convincing Grand Prix in Baku and Singapore, it seems that the W16 has gained in speed, and above all, in balance.

“We have worked a lot on rear tire management, especially on circuits where they are put to the test, explained Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' director of track engineering. The air is very hot in Singapore and you need a lot of traction. In 2024, we encountered some challenges in racing and it's nice to see that work has paid off in the development of this car. We hope to see this trend in other hot conditions and on circuits where traction is essential."

Although the progress observed in Singapore has been significant in several respects, it could be attributed to slight technical modifications, and potentially inexpensive for the company with the star. “It was just a small improvement to help us balance the car, added the engineer. We then studied the car's cornering behavior to ensure that drivers didn't need to accelerate fully out of corners to turn the car. Now everything works much better. We also tried to insulate the tires from the heat of the brakes by creating a cooling element around them. We hope to have made progress in this area."

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Antonelli decisive in Russell and Mercedes' victory

Starting his weekend with an accident, hitting the wall in Free Practice, George Russell didn't seem the most comfortable. On a track where a similar accident had occurred for the Briton in a race in 2023, the driver was able to turn things around. Among the key players in this return to business for the Mercedes team leader, Kimi Antonelli would indeed be no stranger.

“After George’s accident, Kimi chose to stop working on low fuel and was the only one to complete a long stint on high fuel, detailed Andrew ShovlinWe were evaluating two cooling levels, which allowed us to choose the most aggressive one. This was beneficial aerodynamically. It also allowed us to adjust the ride height to a level where we were confident we could pass the FIA ​​tests, without sacrificing downforce. It was really helpful to have Kimi in this form on Friday; he definitely contributed to the victory."

Quick to broaden his analysis to include future circuits on the calendar, Andrew Shovlin seems to remain confident, and above all curious about the end of the season that awaits Mercedes in this new context. “We have excellent grip in the low-speed areas and the drivers are confident under braking. What is missing on these circuits is the fast corners, an area where we struggle a little. We will have to make sure we can express our best potential in the fast sector of the circuit. It was encouraging to see that the car can still win races, and we saw a brilliant performance from George. All of this has given us a lot of energy for the last few races. The circuits will be different, and we will have a lot of work to do to adapt the car, but we certainly won't give up.”