F1 News: George Russell Explains Why Mercedes Removed W15 Floor Upgrade For Belgian Grand Prix

Saajan Jogia | Jul 28, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Mercedes driver George Russell (63) scrapes the track as sparks fly racing into turn five during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

George Russell explained why Mercedes removed its new floor upgrade for the W15 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix qualifying. The team chose to revert to the old floor, which it was more familiar with in terms of its impact on the car's performance.

Mercedes is contending with close rivals McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a track where it has struggled to secure victories since the onset of the ground effect era in 2022. Despite Lewis Hamilton starting from P3, the high-speed circuit is not particularly suited to the W15.

The free practice sessions offered Mercedes valuable insights into the minor floor upgrades on the W15. However, the team decided to revert to the old spec floor to avoid experimenting in uncharted territory. This decision was based on the old spec's proven performance, which has seen Mercedes consistently reach the podium in the last five Grands Prix, including victories in Austria and Silverstone.

Without the floor upgrade, Hamilton managed to qualify in fourth, while Russell secured seventh. However, due to Max Verstappen's grid penalty for using a fifth engine, they will start third and sixth, respectively.

Speaking to the media about the decision to remove the minor upgrades, despite meeting expectations, Russell said:

"We've struggled here for the last three years, and the fluctuation of all the teams from circuit to circuit is pretty substantial.

"It was important for us to revert back to something we know to see if it is a challenge for Spa for us, which I am pretty confident it is, as opposed to an upgrade problem.

"The upgrades were nothing substantial, it is just part of the development of the course of the year, and it gives us time to review the data and go from there, but I am pretty confident the upgrades are working as expected."

The British driver highlighted the contrast between circuits like Silverstone, where Mercedes excels, and Spa, where the team struggles. He added:

"It's been three years in a row that we've been very quick at Silverstone and struggled at Spa. 

"On paper, you'd say they're not exactly the same type of circuit, but have high and low speed corners, and we need to try and understand [why we struggle at Spa]. 

"There seems to be something inherent in the cars at certain circuits, like Red Bull always fly here, and this is always probably their strongest circuit of the season along with Austria.

"For us, Silverstone and Barcelona are the sort of circuits we tend to go very well at, so we need to understand that."