Mercedes is dealing with the problem with the brakes

The Mercedes team is looking for a solution to the braking problem that almost caused Lewis Hamilton to retire from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season.

During the final part of the race, Lewis and the engineers were concerned about this problem as it was imperative to reach the finish as the fate of Mercedes’ second place in the Constructors’ Championship depended on it.

Hamilton completed the task, taking 9th place and earning two points for the team, which, together with a 5-second penalty received by Sergio Perez, allowed Mercedes to end the season ahead of Ferrari, albeit with a very small lead.

Rosie Waite, the Mercedes team’s chief strategist, explained the problems with Hamilton’s car at the end of the race: “If you analyze all the data and make adjustments to it, taking into account tire wear, track conditions, etc., then is generally that of Lewis. The pace was about the same level as the first two parts of the distance. However, the specific race situation made it seem different.

In the second stint, Lewis chased Fernando on fresh tyres, while the Spaniard ran on more worn tires and spent most of the stint in turbulence behind Oscar Piastri’s car. Therefore, Alonso’s pace looked worse than it actually was, while Lewis looked more confident.

Now let’s look at the third segment, and here they are in a different position. Fernando’s tires were slightly newer and the track in front of him was clear, while Lewis on older tires was driving in turbulence behind Alonso’s Aston Martin, so his speed didn’t look as impressive even though he was running around the same times.

But there was one more thing to keep in mind: Lewis suffered a brake problem throughout the race, which caused serious reliability concerns. It was necessary to ensure that the car would reach the finish line and that the matter would not end in a crash – this was priority number one.

During the race this somehow affected Lewis’ pace, and of course we are working on this issue and trying to achieve improvements by next year.

Ultimately, our goal is to win the championship, and we were not able to do that this year. However, considering our actual speed and the problems we had to overcome, 2nd place in the Constructors’ Championship is a pretty good result, so the team was happy and relieved that we could secure this second place. Now we can focus all our energy on achieving better results next year.

If we talk about the work of the team’s base, then, unlike the racing team, it is during the winter period that the busiest time comes. Many specialists have worked for months on next year’s car. Now that racing is over, full attention will be focused on this task and the entire team will prepare the new car for pre-season testing and the first race in 2024.”