Mercedes has been pressured to cease the event of its present Method 1 automobile after a current spate of crashes.
The German producer has endured some expensive accidents for the reason that summer time – together with Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s observe crash in Monza, plus George Russell‘s offs in Austin qualifying and Mexico observe.
With the restore invoice including up, particularly with Russell damaging a chassis final weekend, Mercedes says that price cap restrictions imply there is no such thing as a cash left to carry any extra upgrades.
Talking concerning the scenario, Wolff stated: “In the associated fee cap panorama, it’s a difficult scenario.
“These three shunts put us on the again foot, and definitely the one which occurred [on Friday in Mexico] was large. We needed to go for a totally new chassis and that could be a great hit in the associated fee cap.
“We in all probability need to dial down on what we placed on the automobile. So we’ll be having two improve packages in Brazil, two flooring, however that is principally it. There’s nothing else that is going to return.
“We have now sure limitation on elements the place we have to be inventive how we’re managing them. And positively there’s an impression on what number of growth elements we will placed on the automobile, as a result of the reply is zero.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes F1 W15, walks away from his broken automobile after a crash in FP1
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos
Regardless of the associated fee cap fears, and the potential for a much bigger headache if there are any extra crashes, Wolff stated no consideration was given to stopping Lewis Hamilton and Russell combating exhausting for place in Mexico.
“They’re so good and so skilled that we enable the racing,” he defined. “There was not a sense the place I assumed it is getting a bit bushy.
“I believe we made the decision to George on the finish, the place it was clear that Lewis was the sooner automobile, to possibly [tell him] that one defence on the straight was a little bit of a late transfer. However I haven’t got any doubts within the two.”
Cut up packages
Whereas Mercedes may have two new flooring accessible in Brazil, with Russell’s repaired Austin model now prepared, Wolff thinks the staff should still cut up packages throughout its automobiles.
Requested what the plan was, Wolff stated: “I am all the time open-minded about what the drivers suppose.
“If I am sure that George goes to go for the brand new, Lewis might need to back-to-back the previous ground now in Brazil. We will definitely discuss with him and see what his choice is.”
Hamilton probably going again to the previous model comes with Mercedes nonetheless having doubts about whether or not the brand new package deal has launched some aero imbalance that’s triggering incidents.
Wolff added: “There could also be one thing within the aero replace package deal that causes one thing that we do not perceive as a result of we had two large crashes in the identical nook in Austin. However then we had a crash on the previous automobile too.
“These automobiles are so on the knife’s edge that will probably be an attention-grabbing experiment in Brazil, to see whether or not there’s a high-speed instability or a low-speed issue. I do not suppose we will simply extrapolate that one is healthier than the opposite.”