Shovlin: There are clearly fewer difficulties in Miami than in Baku

At the end of the first practice session in Miami, the Mercedes drivers adopted the first two rules of the protocol, while George Russell was 0.212 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton on his best lap. Brackley team chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin commented on the results of the session.

Andrew Shovlin: “During training, a problem was discovered with George’s machine: one of the new components we tested was not working as we wanted. Therefore, it had to be dismantled and some time was lost because of this.

Then we adjusted the program: once the red flags were removed and the session resumed, we decided to see how the long series of circles would go. And we ended up fitting a new set of tires, so of course one of the reasons we were able to move up to the front row is that our car was the last to leave the track. In any case, if we talk about balance and other points, you can get a more representative picture at the end of the session, when the track condition has clearly improved.

But this year there were sessions where we couldn’t get the best time no matter what we did. I think what we’ve seen now gives some hope. In my opinion, such results are also explained by the fact that on this circuit the front wheels are subjected to more stress – in Baku, for example, we often had problems because the drivers could not do a good job with the front of the car.

However, the circuit in Baku has given us some headaches in the past, even when we had more efficient cars. We expect our results on a more “normal” track to be around the level we were at in Melbourne, and we performed quite confidently there.

In general, let’s see how this weekend will develop, but it seems that the difficulties here are not as serious as in Baku. When we talk about the properties of the new asphalt pavement, it is more normal than last year. Admittedly, since it is very hot here, the tires will still overheat during the race. In any case, the grip will get better, because by the end of the training it has become more effective.”