Mercedes hoping to use Ferrari tow in qualifying

  • Published on 05 Sep 2019 11:45
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Mercedes is hoping that it can position itself behind the Ferrari cars during Q3 on Saturday, as it expects a tough battle in qualifying.

The Silver Arrows were almost eight-tenths of a second down on Charles Leclerc at Spa-Francorchamps, a track that rewards straight-line speed.

With Monza also notoriously kind to strong straight-line speed, Ferrari will be aiming for a second consecutive victory as it has holds the advantage in a straight line over Mercedes this year. 

At Spa, the end of Q3 saw a number of cars slow up as they attempted to find themselves in a position where they could benefit from a slipstream, which caused traffic issues.

“As you saw from qualifying a lot of the drivers were trying to get a tow from the cars in front," said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

"The reason you do that in Spa is that there is very, very long straights and the car in front will reduce the amount of drag for the car behind and you pick up speed.

"And in the case of Spa, it’s about 4 to 5 kph, which can give you three or four tenths of a second. So, quite a lot of performance there if you can position your car right.

"The trick is though that no one wants to be that car in front. So, as you saw, Hulkenberg left, he thought that people would go past him if they drove slowly.

"But, as it happens, everyone had a very slow outlap, we were all tripping over each other. You do get the benefit of the tow, but the issue is your tyres are cold.

"And that was a problem for us, we lost a bit of time at the first corner just because the tyres weren’t in the right window."

Shovlin is expecting a similar situation this weekend at Monza, as teams fight to be in a position where they gain time from a slipstream during qualifying.

"Looking ahead to Monza, it’s going to be a similar situation," he stated. "Very high-speed track, long straights and everyone is going to be trying to get a tow off everyone else.

"So, what you will probably see in qualifying towards the end is people are staying in the garage, they are waiting for the clock to run down, no one wants to go out first but eventually you’ve got to go, you’ve got to get that outlap in and you’ll see people move.

"Now, what would be good is Ferrari, they are very fast in a straight line, if they would go out first, we can get behind them and get the benefit of that tow.”

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2023

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia
31 - Apr 2
Australia
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan
5 - May 7
United States of America
19 - May 21
Italy
26 - May 28
Monaco
2 - Jun 4
Spain
16 - Jun 18
Canada
30 - Jul 2
Austria
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom
21 - Jul 23
Hungary
28 - Jul 30
Belgium
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands
1 - Sep 3
Italy
15 - Sep 17
Singapore
22 - Sep 24
Japan
20 - Oct 22
United States of America
27 - Oct 29
Mexico
-
Spain
3 - Nov 5
Brazil
17 - Nov 19
United States of America
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates
-
Italy
-
Italy
-
Italy
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
3 - Mar 5
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
16 - Jun 18
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom Silverstone
21 - Jul 23
Hungary Hungaroring
28 - Jul 30
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
1 - Sep 3
Italy Monza
15 - Sep 17
22 - Sep 24
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar