Front wing hailed as “Eureka moment” for resurgent Mercedes
"It’s been a Eureka moment for them. They have now found it"
Mercedes’ crucial new front wing has been labelled a “Eureka moment” which could restore their competitiveness.
The struggling team enjoyed a hugely encouraging weekend in Canada last time out, with George Russell finishing third and Lewis Hamilton fourth.
Russell had claimed pole position too, on the first weekend that both Mercedes drivers ran their recently upgraded front wing.
F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson commented: “There is no doubt that it’s all about the flexi front wing.
“Staying within the regulations, there is a load that the front wing has to carry.
“It is not allowed to flex more than a certain amount with that load on it.
“As long as it passes that test, it can do whatever it wants beyond that.
“Red Bull nailed that from the start of these regulations.
“Mercedes nailed it down. It’s been a Eureka moment for them.
“They have now found it. I think it’s really exciting going forward for Formula 1.
“[Russell] and Max Verstappen set an identical lap time in qualifying which hasn’t happened since 1997.
“F1 is really competitive now. Who is going to win in Barcelona? Probably Red Bull will be stronger.
“But McLaren are so good now. Mercedes are coming on.
“It was confirmation from Mercedes in Montreal. I think they are back! “They are not yet on the level on a high-speed track of Red Bull. But they are certainly back and will be contenders every weekend.”
Natalie Pinkham replied: “Barcelona will be so revealing because it’s a track with a bit of everything.
“It’s so exciting for fans because there could be eight cars in it, fighting for pole and for victory.
“We were waxing lyrical about Charles Leclerc at the last race and now he’s not the talk of the town.”
Clarkson reflected on the F1 Canadian Grand Prix: “With a small change in the trajectory of the race, any one of the top three could have won.
“If Lando reacted to the Safety Car and come in when everyone else came in, he would’ve won that race.
“George was the least likely with the performance characteristics of that Mercedes.
“It was so close. I can’t think of a closer weekend in a long time.”
Clarkson feels that the converging of the F1 field means Verstappen no longer benefits from an Ayrton Senna-like aura to dissuade rivals from attacking him.
“Now, the drivers feel that ‘we can compete with this guy’,” Clarkson said.
“The feeling in the pitlane is different. The determination of Lando and Oscar and Lewis and George is different.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
