Andrew Shovlin warns Mercedes: rivals gaining ground despite strong start. Andrew Shovlin reviews George Russell’s difficult Suzuka race.

Andrew Shovlin has commented on the incidents that complicated George Russell’s race at Suzuka, as well as the work Mercedes will carry out during the upcoming break.

Mercedes, three wins in a row

Across the first three race weekends of the season, Mercedes left very little to its rivals, conceding only a handful of minor placings. It was only at Suzuka that the team missed out on a podium finish, partly due to unfortunate circumstances that affected George Russell’s race. The #63 driver made his pit stop just before the deployment of the Safety Car — triggered by Oliver Bearman’s accident — a mistimed decision that instead benefited Kimi Antonelli.

In addition, the British driver encountered energy management issues that allowed both Ferrari cars to overtake him: Lewis Hamilton passed him shortly after the restart on lap 28, while Charles Leclerc completed his move at Spoon Curve ten laps later.

Mercedes, through its head of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin, provided a detailed explanation of the events that compromised Russell’s race.

Andrew Shovlin’s comments

“If we had stopped George one lap later, he would have retained the lead of the race at the restart,” Andrew Shovlin explained. “Instead, he dropped to P3 and lost another position to Lewis because he hit the energy recovery limit too early in the lap and did not have enough battery for the restart. Then he faced another frustrating issue: a bug in the software code, triggered by pressing a button at the same time as changing gear, caused the power unit to go into super clipping and recharge the battery, which allowed Charles to pass.”

“Clearly, there are many things we need to work on and understand in the coming weeks. We started the season very strongly, but our rivals are getting closer,” the British engineer warned. “Fortunately, we still have several areas where we can improve, and we will make the most of the break to strengthen the aspects where we are currently weaker.”

This software glitch highlights the hyper-complex nature of the technical regulations and how easily a race can be turned upside down. While Mercedes still holds a competitive edge, eliminating these operational bugs will be the primary focus at Brackley before arriving in Miami to maintain their championship advantage.