The Brackley team wants to erase the disappointing result from Imola in the Principality: the W16 has been adapted in its front suspension and steering to better handle hairpins like the one at the former Loews corner. The black-silver single-seater continues its metamorphosis, as it will also receive a new floor in Spain.
Mercedes has adapted its front suspension in Monte Carlo to suit the twisty layout of the Principality, and the steering arm has also been modified to ease navigation through very tight corners like the ex-Loews hairpin — the slowest on the calendar — where drivers often release a hand from the wheel to avoid crossing their arms.
The Brackley team is looking to get back on track after a disappointing weekend at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit, which yielded only a seventh-place finish for George Russell, while Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire for the first time due to an accelerator issue. As explained by Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin in the usual post-GP analysis: “The issue was in the damper, and from telemetry, we saw that the car never went full throttle. We tried to recalibrate sensors in real time, but you can’t mess around with the throttle — there’s a safety risk, so Kimi stopped.”
George Russell’s W16, on the other hand, was subjected to a detailed scan in the Monaco pit lane to find the issue he experienced already on the formation lap at Imola, where the car showed abnormal behavior.
In the Principality, Mercedes will aim to capitalize on its strengths over a single lap: as we know, track position is crucial in Monaco, even though the FIA has introduced mandatory two-stop strategies in the sporting regulations this year.
From an aerodynamic standpoint, the focus is obviously not on efficiency but on generating maximum downforce: the rear wing features the largest chord length for both the main plane and the DRS flap.
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