F1 News
Shovlin happy: 'Tried many things to solve problems'
Mercedes seems to be fully back. Of the past four races, the German racing stable won three. And that while the team has struggled with the car since 2022. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' trackside engineering director, told more about the car's good performance and development in Belgium.
In 2022, Mercedes did manage to make a reasonable comeback. Eventually, George Russell won the Brazilian Grand Prix that season. In 2023, things were more difficult. Red Bull was very dominant throughout the season, while Mercedes struggled to find speed. The season ended with a second place in the constructors' championship, but a win was not forthcoming.
Shovlin relieved by Mercedes' improvement
In 2024, Mercedes had another mediocre start, but by now things were going pretty well at the 'Silver Arrows'. When Shovlin was asked about how he looks at 'the breakthrough', he replied, "It's not so much a breakthrough moment. We always thought this car seemed to be fast in its time, but to be able to show that over the whole weekend was a bit of a challenge for us at the beginning of the year."
The Briton continued, "We did a lot of things to try to solve the problems. As I said, we were surprised we were not faster at the beginning of the season. We thought we had made a good car and without knowing it, we had to come out on top. Now we are seeing the results of that hard work."
This article has been written in collaboration with Ben Stevens.