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Formula One / 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Friday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 03:08:19 PM »

George Russell

That was a challenging session as the track cooled through Sprint Qualifying. Finishing P6 is reflective of where we are right now, at the back of the front pack of teams, and with a pace delta to the next group behind us. I enjoy the challenge of Sprint weekends, getting straight into the action, and of course today has also brought the slightly unexpected challenge of a very bumpy track – which obviously is the same for everyone. For tomorrow, I will be looking to move forward and using the Sprint to work out where we can improve the car for qualifying and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton

It has been a difficult day for me – notwithstanding the incredible support from the amazing fans here in Brazil. I think the ride on the bumpy surface has been pretty bad for everyone, and it made FP1 very challenging inside the cockpit. We lifted the car during the break and improved the situation, but the pace simply wasn’t there when it came to the timed laps – the balance is on a knife edge, and the car just so tricky to drive and I couldn’t attack any of the corners as I wanted to. I hope we can move forward from P11 during the Sprint and keep working to figure out how to find the sweet spot of the balance in qualifying tomorrow afternoon.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It has been a challenging day for us in Interlagos. Running in very warm conditions in FP1, it quickly became clear that the resurfaced track was as bumpy as ever, and that this would provide us with a set-up challenge for the weekend. Both drivers completed decent long runs, and we made relatively small changes going into Sprint Qualifying. Once we began running, it became clear that neither George nor Lewis were completely happy with the balance, suffering with snaps at the rear. This cost Lewis confidence and lap time, and saw him knocked out of SQ2 by less than 0.1s. George was able to reach SQ3, eventually taking P6 but with a substantial gap to Piastri on pole. The Sprint tomorrow is going to be useful to learn about the long run balance ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. It’s normally a good circuit for overtaking so if we have pace, there’s every opportunity for both drivers to move forward.

Formula One / 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Preview

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 03:06:04 PM »

Toto Talks São Paulo

The past two races in Austin and Mexico City have not been our cleanest so we are aiming for a smoother weekend at Interlagos. Despite the challenges in the US and Mexico, we have furthered our learning with the W15. Given our position in the championship, we have been able to test things out with little penalty. Whilst we are still focused on maximising our result each and every weekend, that testing and learning will be valuable in setting us up strongly for 2025. We will continue that approach this weekend in Brazil.

Interlagos is a proper driver's circuit with plenty of undulation and a challenge mix of low, medium, and high-speed corners. Given that it is the penultimate Sprint format of the year, we will have to execute effectively from the first session to get the car in a good window. We know it will be difficult to challenge the Ferraris and the McLarens who have looked strong in recent races. We will still be working hard to do so though and will see where our relative performance is over the weekend.
Fact File: São Paulo Grand Prix

The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is the fourth-shortest track on the 2024 F1 calendar at just 4.309 km long, only behind Monaco, Zandvoort and Mexico.
The São Paulo Grand Prix venue is situated 800 metres above sea level, the second-highest altitude on the F1 calendar behind Mexico City (which sits at 2,300m above sea level).
Interlagos is a track of two extremes. The first and third sectors require a low-drag car for the long straights, but the middle sector is twisty, requiring high downforce. The second DRS zone means more focus is typically on higher downforce for the ultimate fastest lap, but a balance still needs to be found with being competitive on the straights during the race.
There is 1.2 kilometres of driving at full throttle between the exit of Turn 12 and the braking zone for Turn One, with an elevation change of 33 metres.
The biggest difference in elevation is from the start/finish straight to Turn 4 where there is a 40-metre drop in elevation.
The long straight before the lap begins also requires some clever deployment of energy from the ERS to maximise performance towards the end of the out lap, as the drivers start their flying lap.
Turn 1 is banked heavily towards the inside, unloading the front-left wheel and causing frequent lockups. However, because the tyre is unloaded, flat spots are less likely and time loss isn't as high as you'd expect, due to the steep banking and variety of corner lines drivers can take. The variety of lines is also what makes this corner well suited to overtaking.
The uphill grid requires the drivers to find the balance between holding the car on the brakes as gently as possible, without rolling backwards.
From Turn 10 to Turn 6 (around 3.5 km of distance) the left-hand front tyre does very little work and therefore cools down quickly, providing a tricky engineering challenge to keep the tyre in its temperature window.
With long straights and a second DRS zone, Interlagos is one of the best tracks of the season for overtaking. However, it can be difficult for the defending car to manage its battery, as there aren't many big braking zones to recover energy.
The São Paulo Grand Prix is the fifth F1 Sprint of the 2024 season, with just Qatar left on the Sprint calendar this season.
This will be the fourth consecutive year that the circuit has hosted a Sprint weekend.
Interlagos is a very flowing circuit with a lot of combined corner entries (where you are cornering and braking at the same time), meaning good stability is important. However, you also need a good front end for the low-speed middle sector.
Track temperatures can reach some of the hottest of the season in Brazil, up to 60°C. And thunderstorms are common around this time of year, which can potentially spice up the weekend.
Since 2021, the race around the circuit has been known as the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas won the inaugural F1 Sprint race at Interlagos in 2021. A year later, George Russell won his first F1 Sprint race at the venue.
A day later in 2022, George won his first F1 Grand Prix, leading home at W13 1-2 with Lewis behind.
Lewis has three wins at the circuit (2016, 2018 & 2021) and in 2022 the seven-time world champion was made an honorary citizen of Brazil in an official ceremony.
The team has six wins overall at Interlagos. In addition to the four from Lewis and George, Nico Rosberg also won in São Paulo (2014 & 2015).

Formula One / 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix - Sunday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 03:03:39 PM »

Lewis Hamilton

We ultimately moved forward and brought home good points today for the team. We weren’t looking so racy in the first stint; I didn’t have enough front-wing in the car and was suffering with lots of understeer. We were able to improve the balance at our second stop and our pace got better. Even if we had enjoyed that speed in the first stint though, we still wouldn’t have had the pace to challenge those ahead for the podium. P4 and P5 is still slightly better than we predicted today though so we can be pleased with our afternoon.

This hasn’t been the smoothest weekend for the team, but we’ve gathered a lot of information across both specifications. We can now analyse that data and evaluate the best way forward for next weekend in Brazil and the rest of the season. Hopefully we can get the car in a slightly better spot for Interlagos and take the fight to the Ferraris and McLarens.
George Russell

I had a strong first stint, but I hit a bump as I overtook the McLaren of Oscar Piastri at the start of my second stint and picked up some front-wing damage. It was definitely costing me a couple of tenths a lap in terms of performance which was a bit of a shame. We had to do over 30 laps carrying that but even without it, we wouldn’t have had the speed to challenge for the podium. Overall, then, P4 and P5 is likely where we deserved to be today as a team and perhaps a little bit better than we thought going into the race.

We will keep working hard to improve as we want to be battling right at the front. We continue to make progress with the car, as you can see with the gap increasing to the teams behind us in the championship. We’ve also closed the gap on Red Bull since the start of the season but it’s clear that Ferrari and McLaren have made even more progress. We will use these final four races of the season to continue building our learning, test different things out, and set ourselves up well for next year.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Overall, P4 and P5 is likely where we are pace-wise with our car at the moment. On circuits that demand good traction, we are not able to compete with those right at the very front. That is frustrating but we are working hard to bring more performance and build momentum for 2025. These final few races are a good opportunity for us to test different things and put ourselves in as strong a position as possible for next year.

In today’s race, George was hindered by front-wing damage which was costing him a good chunk of performance. He still drove strongly, and his pace was decent compared to Verstappen behind. The Red Bull never became a threat to our race after the first pit stop. We also saw that, once he was in free air, Lewis’ speed was good on the Hard compound and comparative to those at the front. We now head to Brazil and will be looking to end the triple-header as strongly as possible.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Without incidents, P4 and P5 is likely the best result we could have brought home today. Once Verstappen picked up his penalty, we believed we would be interacting with him at some point after those first stops. Encouragingly, both George and Lewis had the speed to pull away from him and score solid points. George was hindered when the front wing flap collapsed after he hit a bump during an overtake at the start of the second stint. Despite that, he still maintained good enough pace to bring it home in fifth. We let the drivers race each other throughout; that meant that Lewis' tyres were past their best once he made it into clear air. We didn't get a great read on our ultimate pace but clearly we need to find more speed if we are to challenge right at the very front.

It has not been the smoothest of weekends here in Mexico or at the previous race in Austin. We have learnt a lot as a team though over both Grands Prix. With our position in the Constructors' Championship likely set, we also have the opportunity to further our learning over the final four races. We will continue to do that as we head to Brazil and Interlagos for the final race in this triple-header.

Formula One / 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix - Saturday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 03:00:58 PM »

George Russell

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone in the garage for working so hard to get the car ready for today. There was extensive damage, and we had to change the chassis overnight. I am therefore happy with our recovery from yesterday. We are still running the previous specification package which we’ve had for the last 12 races, so to be less than two tenths off the front-row is a solid effort.

My final lap felt good, and I was happy with it as I crossed the line. P5 was likely the most we could have hoped for today given the speed of those in front. I don’t think we quite have the race pace of the four cars ahead but let’s see tomorrow. I also expect that they will be scrapping quite hard so maybe the race will come towards us.
Lewis Hamilton

The car felt good in FP3, but I didn’t have that same feeling in Qualifying. We made a few small set-up adjustments after that final practice session as we tried to find a little more speed. Unfortunately, they didn’t bring that extra lap time, and we had to settle for P6.

It’s going to be difficult to challenge the guys ahead tomorrow. They’ve looked quick, particularly the Ferraris and the McLaren of Norris. Whilst we may not be able to fight them on pure pace, we will be looking to take advantage of any chances that come our way. It is also a long run down to the first corner so making positions off the start could be the key to our race.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

P5 and P6 was a fair result today. We didn’t have the pace of the front three teams so the third row was likely the best we could have managed. We still needed to execute well though; Qualifying was not straightforward with both Red Bull and McLaren losing a car in Q1. Ultimately, we were within two tenths of the front row with George, who is running the previous specification this weekend. Whilst that is a little frustrating, it can give us encouragement heading into tomorrow’s race that we may be able to pick up the pieces if those ahead don’t execute well.

It was a tougher session for Lewis. He only made small set-up changes after FP3, but he didn’t feel as comfortable with the car as he had done earlier in the day. It was a solid job to take P6 and he will be looking forward tomorrow.

Finally, it is important to recognise the great work of the team in the garage. They have not had an easy time of it in the past couple of races. After George’s accident yesterday, they worked through much of the night to get the car ready and did a superb job. To consistently operate at that level, particularly during an intense triple-header, is testament to the team spirit and professionalism that keep driving us forward.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

The team worked hard through the night to repair George’s car following yesterday’s accident in FP2. It was a heavy shunt and there was extensive damage, including to the chassis. That forced us into a switch of chassis, but we were able to complete the work and have both cars on track for FP3. That is a major credit to the team in the garage, who have had dealt with the challenges that have come our way both here and in Austin effectively and efficiently.

Heading into Qualifying, we knew we would have a tall task to get ourselves into the fight for the top-three. The Ferraris have looked quick all weekend and McLaren popped up in FP3 with some competitive times. It is therefore frustrating that we fell just a couple of tenths shy of getting on the front-row. We know that P5 and P6 is likely a fair result though given our pace so far this weekend. With the speed of those ahead, we know it won’t be easy to make progress from the third row. Nevertheless, will be looking to take every opportunity that comes our way tomorrow to do so.

Formula One / 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix - Friday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:58:42 PM »

George Russell

It was a big hit, and I felt a bit winded initially. I’m OK but unfortunately the car wasn’t. I am not sure what happened. I turned into the corner, trying to cut the line similarly to how I did in FP1. I’m not sure whether it was the kerb or the car bottoming out but it bounced a little and, before I had a chance to catch it, I was already in the wall.

There is a lot of work on for the team in the garage overnight now, unfortunately. It does feel like it is one thing after another at the moment. It is frustrating as we were strong in FP1 and topped the times. We lost out on a lot of laps in FP2 so FP3 will be important for us to get the car in a good place ahead of Qualifying and Sunday’s race.
Lewis Hamilton

It was great to see Kimi do a really solid job for the team in FP1. It’s been enjoyable working with and supporting him ahead of the session and the programme he carried out set us up well for the afternoon. It’s not always easy to get straight up to speed having missed that opening practice but I got a good feeling from the car in FP2.

With the tyre test, we couldn’t change anything on the car during the session. The red flag following George’s crash almost meant we lost a decent chunk of running time. Nevertheless, I feel like we got a lot of good information to work through and utilise this evening as we look to make improvements for the rest of the weekend.
Kimi Antonelli

I wanted to deliver a clean FP1 session for the team today and I was pleased that I was able to do that. It was my first time driving the circuit here, so I stayed very much within the limit and just built my confidence lap-by-lap. Overall, it was a decent hour, and, despite the red flags, we gathered lots of data that will hopefully help the team over the rest of the weekend.

I was also able to build my understanding of the W15 too. We ran both the Hard and Soft compound and it was good to get a mixture of consecutive running and single lap work completed. Whilst there aren’t any more FP1 sessions for me to take part in this year, I’m looking forward to continuing my programme with previous cars as we build towards 2025.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

FP1 ran smoothly with Kimi doing a solid job as he stepped in for his second rookie session, this time alongside George. We had a busy programme to get through and, despite the interruption of two red flags, were able to complete the majority of it. George meanwhile hit the ground running and felt particularly comfortable on the Soft tyre, topping the times at the end of the hour. With the mandated Pirelli tyre test for FP2, we knew how important getting good FP1 running would be.

That became even more true as George was unfortunate to lose the car at turn eight early in the extended FP2 session. It was a hefty shunt; fortunately, he was OK but the car fared less well. It has given us a decent amount of work to do to get the car ready for FP3 and we are already working through that. Lewis enjoyed a happier session and was comfortable with the car, although a bit frustrated that the tyre test meant he had no opportunity to work on the setup.

Formula One / 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix - Preview

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:56:20 PM »

Toto Talks Mexico City

After a difficult weekend in Austin, we have the opportunity to bounce back immediately in Mexico. Our performance in Texas showed that there is inherent performance in the car. Our challenge is extracting this consistently. That is not the result of one specific challenge, but the interaction of the car across both aero and mechanical factors. We have five more races to work on this before the end of the season. It is important that we do so, not only for our immediate performance but to also set ourselves up well for 2025.

With its high altitude, Mexico presents a unique challenge. The power unit has to work harder and, to counteract the thin air, we run at maximum downforce. It will provide another opportunity to evaluate our recent update package. Kimi will also be in the car for his second FP1 session and we look forward to him continuing his development on track.
Fact File: Mexico City Grand Prix

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is the third-shortest circuit on the 2024 F1 calendar, at just 4.304 km (behind only Zandvoort and Monaco).
The track has the longest run from pole position to the first braking zone of any on the 2024 F1 calendar (767m) and almost 10 seconds of the 1.2-kilometre-long straight are taken at full throttle.
Because of the high altitude and the low air density in Mexico City, the air is incredibly thin (meaning there are less molecules around) and transports less energy away from hot systems like the Power Unit and brakes.
The nature of the circuit means drivers make only 35 gear changes per lap, the lowest number of the season.
The ambient pressure is the lowest of the season by far. At 780mb, the oxygen levels are 78% of what they are at sea level, and this has a big impact on different areas of a Formula One car, such as Power Unit performance and downforce.
Because you can run a Monaco wing level but experience Monza levels of downforce, top speeds in Mexico are some of the highest of the season, where the cars can achieve 346 km/h (or more with a tow). Only Vegas is higher.
The Power Unit is one of the most affected systems on the car by the high altitude, with a decent drop in engine power due to the thin air. The turbocharger makes up for some of the power loss, but has to work much harder than it would in normal conditions.
The team has three wins at the track – two with Lewis (2016 & 2019) and 2015 with Nico. The latter’s win came on F1’s return to the track for the first time since 1992.
Lewis clinched his fourth (2017) and fifth (2018) World Drivers’ Championship at the circuit.
Junior driver and 2025 Mercedes F1 racer Kimi Antonelli will take part in his second FP1 session of the season, as part of F1’s rules around rookie drivers competing in FP1. The Italian will drive Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W15.

Formula One / United States Grand Prix - Sunday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:54:34 PM »

George Russell

I was pleased with how today went from my side. We didn’t know what the race would bring in terms of opportunities but going from the pit lane to P6, and finishing ahead of Red Bull, meant that we made the best of a difficult situation. We had good pace throughout, in particular on the Hard compound tyre. We were able to extend that first stint and give ourselves fresher rubber with which to attack in the closing laps.

We will work hard in the coming days to analyse the weekend as a whole. The car can still be tricky at times; Lewis doesn’t end races in the gravel as we saw today. When we find its sweet spot, it is capable of strong performances but that is difficult to deliver consistently. I think the car had the potential to fight for the podium this weekend, but we need to widen its operating window. We will therefore be looking to bounce back next weekend in Mexico.
Lewis Hamilton

I had a great start, and I thought we were in for a positive race. I was just bringing the tyres in when I had the accident, which was a really strange moment. I wasn’t pushing too hard but the car bounced a little into turn 19, I lost the back end and that was that. We measured a large gust of wind, up to 40 kph, as I turned in which likely didn’t help. George had a similar spin to me yesterday so we will work hard to analyse both incidents and see what we can learn from them.

I am sorry to the whole team who have worked so hard to bring these updates but onwards and upwards from here. Hopefully we can get the car in a better place for next week in Mexico. We will all be working incredibly hard to do so.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

It has been a tough weekend overall here in Austin. We see that there is pace in the car, as was shown on Friday and with George in the race today, but we are still dealing with its inconsistency. That is not something unique to us though. Different teams have come into and out of form throughout the season, but it is something we will be working hard to improve over the final five races of the season.

The positive from today was that George was quick throughout and produced a good fightback from his pit lane start. The team in the garage worked hard last night to get the car ready for the race, with a large workload to get through as we had to revert on specification. George drove a strong race and was particularly quick on the Hard compound. That enabled us to extend his first stint and ultimately claim P6 in the final few laps. Unfortunately, it was a disappointing day for Lewis. He wasn’t pushing at all but a gust of wind, combined with the dirty air from the car ahead, and he lost the car. We need to look at that, and what happened with George yesterday, to understand why the car reacted like that. Lewis Hamilton is not a driver that loses a car like that on lap two of a race, so there is something there that we need to understand.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Given that we had one car starting at the back and one in the pit lane, we had realistic expectations as to what could be achieved today. Lewis made a good start and was quickly up to P12. Unfortunately, that didn't last long as he lost the rear in turn 19. We're still investigating what caused that, but in any case, his race was over.

George was making steady progress through the field in his first stint, but it still took him until the halfway point to get any clear air to judge pace. Encouragingly, the car was hanging on to its tyres well and that was allowing us to extend. P6 was the best he could have achieved today, and he drove a good race to get there.

As a team we have underachieved across the weekend and are under no illusions that we need to do better. The update kit has shown some promise, but we've not had a single clean session, and we'll leave here not knowing what we could have done if we'd started near the front with a car in our latest aero specification. We will look to answer that question next weekend in Mexico.

Formula One / United States Grand Prix - Saturday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:51:59 PM »

George Russell

Yesterday we were in the fight for P1 in Sprint Qualifying but today we were really struggling. It is confusing how our fortunes have changed so drastically from one day to another. It is clear that when we find the sweet spot of this car, we are capable of fighting for pole positions and race wins. When we don’t, we are at the back of the front pack.

In the Sprint, I lost a position off the start and was pushing hard early on to regain that. Unfortunately, we then started to struggle with the tyres, and I went backwards. It was difficult to understand as our pace on Friday, particularly on the long run, was strong. We continued to struggle in Qualifying, although my final lap was looking strong before I locked up into turn 12. I was perhaps over-pushing into turn 19 to make up for that time and I lost the rear of the car. I am disappointed in the damage I caused to the car and the work that will have to go on overnight now to repair it.
Lewis Hamilton

That was a tough day. The Sprint was a difficult session for us with the car not feeling as strong as it did yesterday. The temperature was warmer than on Friday and that didn’t seem to suit us. We made some changes ahead of Qualifying to counteract that and try to push us in a direction that could get the car closer to how it felt on Friday, but we continued to struggle.

Tomorrow will be difficult for us starting P19. It will be hard to come across opportunities, but I will be giving it my all to move forward. The car today suffered from an inconsistent balance and a lack of grip so hopefully it will be in a better place on Sunday.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

A disappointing and frustrating day. After a strong Friday, we were hopeful of a good showing and it quickly became clear in the Sprint that we didn’t have the pace of our nearest competitors, falling back to finish a distant P5 and P6. Added to that, the handling balance both drivers had enjoyed the day before was missing and they were struggling with tyre overheating - Lewis on the rear axle, George on the front. We made some set-up changes to tackle this ahead of Qualifying, but we continued to struggle and couldn’t unlock the same level of performance we had seen on Friday, with Lewis finishing P19 and George P6 but unable to complete his final flying lap.

Tomorrow’s race will therefore be an uphill battle: there is a major repair job ahead for George after the Q3 crash. With Lewis starting P19, it will be a case of damage limitation in the race: fighting for meaningful points will be tough and we need things to fall in our favour to do so.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

After a promising Friday, this was a tough Saturday. It became apparent early in the Sprint that we didn't have the speed of our competitors. We were pushing hard to keep up with those ahead and that put extra energy through the tyres. That overheating bit us hard in the second half of the race and we could only manage P5 and P6. We also found a broken part on Lewis' front suspension post Sprint and that definitely impacted the overall balance.

In an effort to get the car back to the sweet spot we had on Friday, we made some set-up adjustments ahead of Qualifying. Sadly these didn't have the desired effect. A consistent balance continued to elude Lewis although he was unfortunate to be knocked out in Q1 having been impacted by traffic in sector one. George fared slightly better and was on a strong lap in Q3 but came unstuck at turn 12 with a lock up and then finally turn 19 with his off.

We have a lot of work to do to get George's car ready for the race. The team will be working hard through the evening in order to do that. We know tomorrow will likely be a tough fight but we will continue to work diligently and hard, looking to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way.

Formula One / United States Grand Prix - Friday

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:49:03 PM »

George Russell

I’m really happy with how today went. It has been a while since we qualified on the front-row so we can be pleased with the progress we have made. The update kit we brought here seems to be working well although it has surprised us a little how competitive we were today. Sprint Qualifying was a tricky session, but I was able to put my lap in SQ3 together. The final sector in particular was strong and that is what enabled us to take P2.

Lewis was very quick today, and he was unlucky to be caught out by a yellow flag. We both should have been up there but it’s great that, as a team, we were back in the mix today. It is also clearly very close with several other outfits including Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. Hopefully we can continue this form into the weekend and look forward to fighting at the front.
Lewis Hamilton

That was a real shame today as I got unlucky with a yellow flag. I was four tenths up on my lap and looking good for P1, but it is what it is. The good thing is that we seem to have made a step forward with the car. The update we have brought here was working well and I am really grateful to everyone back at the factory for their hard work. The last few races haven’t been straightforward, but everyone has done a great job to bring this upgrade.

We also did some strong work after FP1 to improve the car for Sprint Qualifying. Sprint weekends add an extra level of jeopardy with a second parc fermé, but as soon as we took to the track, I knew we had made some good choices. Despite our disappointment today, we have another go at it tomorrow and we will be giving it our best.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We can take many positives but ultimately, we end the day slightly frustrated. Lewis was on for a lap that would have been more than enough for P1. We had opted to go on the early side to avoid any interruptions with yellows on a busy track at the end of the session. Unfortunately, and ironically, Lewis caught a yellow flag following a spin for the Williams of Colapinto at turn 12. That put paid to his challenge for the front-row and he will line up P7.

George wasn’t as comfortable with the car today as Lewis but it’s a clear sign of progress that he was still able to take P2. We have brought an update kit this weekend and its introduction has been straightforward. It is of course only one day of running but it does look like we are seeing the gains we hoped for. We will look to continue that momentum into the rest of the weekend.

Formula One / United States Grand Prix - Preview

« Last post by fasteddy on November 29, 2024, 02:44:15 PM »

Toto Talks Austin

This weekend marks the start of an intense run to the end of the year. We have six races over the next eight weeks, ending with the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Although we are not in contention for the championships, there is still plenty to fight for and the opportunity to create a few highlights along the way. We want to end this year as strongly as possible, build momentum for 2025, and bid farewell to Lewis in the best way possible.

We have therefore been hard at work since Singapore analysing our performance and how we can improve. We bring our final update package of the season to Texas and our aim is to close the gap to the front. It will also provide useful information that will help guide our development direction for 2025.

The Sprint format returns this weekend, and we will have to be at our best to introduce the update package effectively. The Circuit of the Americas is a fantastic track but one that caught us out last year. Its high-speed layout, combined with its bumpy surface, make it a challenge for both the car and driver. It is one we are looking forward to.
Fact File: United States Grand Prix

The 2024 US Grand Prix will be the 300th for Mercedes in F1 since the marque returned as a works team at the start of the 2010 season.
It will also therefore mark the 300th Grand Prix for PETRONAS as our Team Title and Technical Partner.
COTA is one of nine tracks on the 2024 F1 calendar that is fully anti-clockwise, alongside Jeddah, Miami, Imola, Baku, Singapore, Interlagos, Las Vegas and Yas Marina.
It is tied with Baku for the second-most corners on any F1 2024 track, with 20, behind Jeddah (27).
The incline from the starting grid to the apex at Turn One is 134 feet, one of the highest elevation changes on the whole F1 calendar.
Drivers generate over 5G under braking for Turn 12, one of the biggest of the season - a driver weighing 70kg will experience around 350kg of centrifugal force when they brake.
No one has more wins at COTA than Lewis Hamilton (5). Lewis also clinched his third (2015) and sixth (2019) F1 titles at the track.
The team has five wins at COTA – more than any other Constructor. Lewis has four of those, while Valtteri Bottas also has one US GP win, coming in 2019.
For the second year in a row, the circuit will host an F1 Sprint race on Saturday. Lewis finished the 2023 edition of the Sprint format at COTA in P2.
In 2024, COTA will host the fourth of six F1 Sprint races during the 2024 season.