02/08/2025 10:20
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has stated an issue with the
rear axle of the W15 car has caused a slip back in form at recent
races. The Brackley-based squad has endured a torrid run of late,
particulary on Kimi Antonelli's side of the garage. The Italian has
failed to score at six out of the last seven grands prix, with the
poor stretch broken up by a maiden podium at the Canadian Grand
Prix. While team-mate George Russell has been able to bring home
points, the Briton has largely been a non-factor since his victory
in Montreal in June. Mercedes reverted to an older suspension
specification on Friday at Hungary in a bid to give its drivers
more confidence. Explaining the issue Mercedes has run into at
recent events, Wolff told Sky DE : "It wasn't a problem with
aerodynamics. "The problem with the new rear axle, which we used
for a few races, was mainly in the fact that it made the rear end
completely unstable and it didn't give any confidence. "With the
old rear axle we do have that [confidence], now that we have the
old suspension reinstalled. Both drivers say the problem is gone,
so that's considerably better." Mercedes ended the second practice
session with both drivers inside the top 10. Russell confirmed he
had more confidence behind the wheel but asserted more pace needs
to be found if it wishes to be competitive towards the front of the
order. "It always feels good when you're a bit higher up the
leaderboard," Russell said on Friday. "We just need to find that
last little bit before it starts clicking again for us. "It wasn't
a breakthrough, but it wasn't like we were expecting it to be a
breakthrough. We've just got to keep chipping away. "It definitely
felt more enjoyable to drive, we both had a bit more confidence. We
are looking at the top half of the leaderboard, that's an
improvement on Spa."
