Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says his team discovered a major weakness in its 2020 car at last week’s Austrian Grand Prix.
While Wolff was happy with the W11’s pace, he says the electrical issue that can lead to gearbox problems might be the car’s “cystal chin” (Wolff meant to use the boxing expression “glass jaw”).
“I think that pace-wise we can be very happy, because straight from the get-go we were in a good place, and we were able to transfer that in a positive qualifying,” the Austrian told Sky Sports F1.
“But in the race, we suffered a little bit from a, how you say in boxing, crystal chin. Lots of punch, but a crystal chin.”
When asked about the specifics of the problem, the Austrian said:
“Austria is very particular with the high kerbs and you can see in the slow-motion the vibrations that go through the suspension.
“That was one of the issues, and the other one that we saw, the wiring looms around the gearbox and inside the gearbox had quite some vibration, and basically rubbed onto each other.”