F1 News: Mercedes Drops New Belgian GP Upgrade In Surprising Move

Mercedes has decided to abandon its new floor design at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix due to underperformance.

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (44) during F1 qualifying for Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Mercedes has decided to drop its new floor design for the remainder of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. The decision, made following Friday's practice sessions, comes after the new component failed to deliver the expected performance, sparking concerns amongst the team's engineers and strategists.

Mercedes had introduced the new floor, aiming to replicate the strong performance seen at Silverstone, another high-speed track. However, the reality proved starkly different as both Mercedes drivers—George Russell and Lewis Hamilton—finished the practice sessions over one second slower than the session's leaders. Notably, a significant loss of up to 0.9 seconds was recorded on Spa's straights.

In response to these disappointing outcomes, Mercedes underwent an intensive internal review. The team's engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, had previously lauded the new floor as a crucial developmental step. He commented, as quoted by Autosport:

“The main thing is the floor. It's just another step of development that we've been able to bring here.

“It's also nice to get some new parts on the car, because the reality of a cost cap is you're constantly sort of patching them up, trying to repair them. Hopefully, this will be a step forward."

Despite these hopes, the extensive overnight analyses, which included simulator sessions and factory-based feedback, failed to provide a conclusive benefit of the new floor. Consequently, Mercedes opted to revert to a previously used floor specification starting with Saturday's sessions.

The third and final free practice session was disrupted after a crash from Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll caused a red flag which was extended due to the heavy rain soaking the track, meaning Mercedes had minimal time to gather more data after the floor changes. Hamilton put in the ninth fastest time, whereas, Russell went eighteenth fastest.