Mercedes opted to use the new floor for the remainder of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, having been unsure of its potential when it was first unveiled in Belgium.
As part of the upgrade programme that helped transform the W15 into a championship-winning car, Mercedes trialled the new floor for the first time at Spa-Francorchamps before the summer break.
However, after a turbulent Friday that left the team bewildered by poor handling and a lack of straight-line speed, the floor was taken off as the team decided to revert to the previous, well-understood specification.
This move was a very cautious one, as the engineering department was convinced, based on data coming from the factory, that the new design was a significant improvement, even if its potential was not immediately apparent.
To confirm their findings, Mercedes split the specifications of their cars during the first practice session at Zandvoort, with George Russell driving a car with the new floor and Lewis Hamilton remaining on the old one.
The team is pleased with the car’s performance on track, with Hamilton driving it comfortably in FP2 while Russell took pole position. The team saw enough yesterday to be confident that the new floor is the way to go.
Mercedes technical director Andrew Shovlin said the changeable weather conditions experienced on Friday morning were not ideal for establishing a completely clear picture of how the floor was behaving, but there was enough evidence from throughout the day to be confident the chosen path was the right one.
– Today was a good start to the weekend. Conditions in FP1 were particularly difficult, with very strong winds and heavy rain making it difficult to get a good read on the updated floor we brought with us in Belgium.
– Nevertheless, what we saw is in line with expectations, so we will continue the weekend with the new floor fitted to both cars.
Mercedes are preparing for a tough battle with McLaren and Red Bull this weekend, with the differences between them looking marginal.
Russell said: “We had a tough time with the windy conditions. It was probably the windiest I can remember driving an F1 car in the last few years. Despite that the car was working really well and the upgraded floor we brought to Spa seemed to be working as expected.”
– The field at the front seems to be fairly even once again. We expect another fascinating battle for the podium places during the rest of the weekend.
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