Mercedes admitted that it still does not understand the deterioration of the balance in Kimi Antonelli’s car at the Formula 1 Dutch GP, bringing uncertainty to the next stage of the Italian GP next week.
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The Italian managed to finish in second place in Zandvoort, increasing his lead in the standings. However, with the last set of new tires in the final laps, the competitor complained of an increased difficulty in controlling the W17.
“It was very strange, because I felt good with the medium tires. I felt that the performance was good on the first set of hard tires, but on the second, the feeling was really strange,” he said after the race.
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Then, Andrew Shovlin, track engineering director, confirmed that the team has no immediate explanation for the problem. “We did not change the car nor add any aerodynamic balance adjustment, things that could have explained the situation. Therefore, we are analyzing the data thoroughly to try to find the real cause,” he pointed out.
It so happens that the next F1 stage is in Monza, Antonelli’s home race, and the driver will already have to deal with a penalty for changing power unit elements. “With Kimi, we will do the full change. Our calculations indicate that this is the best track to do it… We are here to fight for the championship, not to get the maximum media exposure,” said Toto Wolff.
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