© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin says the team’s simulations can’t explain why Lewis Hamilton was “that far ahead of Max” at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Andrew Shovlin reveals Mercedes was concerned about how well their car could perform in Qatar, but Lewis Hamilton’s performance quickly gave the team more confidence.
“We thought we would be good here, but this was the track that, of the three that remained as we came in here, we were perhaps most concerned about,” Shovlin said.
“From Saturday morning, though, it looked like Lewis had it all under control. It’s very difficult to predict whether the margins are going to be one-tenth, two-tenths, which is still a pretty handsome margin.
“We never thought it would be the amount it was, but it all came in that final run.”
The Briton says not even Mercedes’ simulations could predict how good Lewis would be.
“For him, Turn 1 was good, [and] he said from there it just flowed. But he’s really in the zone at the moment.
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“We can do all our simulations, but nothing explains why he was that far ahead of Max. Fundamentally, it’s just down to him really digging deep and doing what needs to be done.”
Shovling goes on to say that Hamilton’s amazing performance level is a boost to everyone in the team.
“I think Brazil was the best race I’ve ever seen him race. Qualifying, that lap was unbelievable. When you think how close Red Bull have been to us, today he had the race under control start to finish.
“He actually didn’t have to work as hard as we thought he might have had to, but Lewis knows what needs to be done to win these championships, the team knows what needs to be done, and we’re all just getting on and doing it.
“Having him there in the car is just a huge boost to our confidence,” concluded Mercedes’ chief engineer.
