Complaints about grip levels caused by high tire pressure: "Never been higher than now"

Andrew Shovlin, Chief Engineer at Mercedes, has reacted to the first practice session for the British Grand Prix in an interview with Sky Sports F1. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell ended up in twelfth and fourteenth positions respectively, but they were the only two drivers who didn't set a lap time on the softest tire compound. According to Shovlin, the team still has some tricks up its sleeve.

Mercedes has brought another upgrade to this weekend's race as well, and that was the focus of the team during the first practice session. "We focused on the testing program in the first free practice, and in the second free practice, we will follow a more normal schedule," Shovlin explains. "We have the new front wing here, so we tried a few different things. We didn't use the soft tires, and it seems that we can still go quite a bit faster with those."

Several drivers, including Max Verstappen, complained about the lack of grip at Silverstone. According to Shovlin, this is due to the high tire pressure that Pirelli requires the teams to maintain. "The tire pressure has never been higher than now. The tires are heavily loaded in the high-speed corners. We have had some exciting races here in the past," Shovlin points out, referring to the tire problems in 2013 and 2020. "Presumably, it's done to prevent such issues." As shown in the tweet below from Pirelli, the minimum tire pressure for the front tires is 26.5 psi, while the teams must maintain a minimum of 23.0 psi for the rear tires.

Mercedes hopes for improvement after Austrian setback

The initial impression of the new Mercedes front wing is positive, as indicated by Shovlin. "In terms of lap times, it seems to be a step in the right direction, but we still need to study the data more closely." The team is hoping for a better result than in Austria, where Mercedes finished no higher than seventh and eighth place. "If we were allowed to choose circuits that we could remove from the calendar, Austria would be one for us. It has some corners that don't work well for us. Our goals remain unchanged, but of course, you sometimes have bad races. It was a challenging weekend, but that happens," Shovlin acknowledges. "Usually, the car comes alive on Sundays, but not in Austria."

Throughout the session, the Mercedes team has managed to make progress. "We need to work on the balance. Lewis (Hamilton, ed.) was happier at the end of the session than in the middle of the session, but some changes cannot be made during the session itself." Shovlin also commented on the contract situation of the 38-year-old British driver, although he did not provide any major news. "He is very committed. We know what Lewis is capable of, especially in a good car. The longer he can continue, the better."