Mercedes Technology From Russia

Mercedes pushes back in the fight with Ferrari. In Sochi, the Silver Arrows brought along a new damper element.

Since the last three Ferrari victories, Mercedes is under enormous pressure to react and they are fighting back!

After Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas complaint about vibrations, while racing over the curbs in Singapore, Mercedes introduced a new third balancing damper element on the front axle in Sochi. Its springs are no longer hydraulically operated.

The new damper is lighter and should make the car less nervous at the curve input and output. It should also better compensate for roll and pitching movements during acceleration and braking. It is placed horizontally under the two standard dampers. Mercedes already tested the element in Singapore.

It seems that’s all that Mercedes has panned for this season. There aren’t any more new parts on the car – at least visibly – and no new parts are planned. According to information from AutoBild F1 tech expert Paolo Filisetti no major upgrades will follow for the remainder of the season.

Nevertheless, Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel still expresses caution and is modest in his expectations for the rest of the season even though Ferrari has now become a serious threat to Mercedes:

“Fact is, that we haven’t solved all our problems…Mercedes still has the fastest car in the race. Mercedes can win everywhere, we can’t do that yet. “

*This article was first published in German at autobild.de/motorsport.