Despite all his efforts, Lewis Hamilton was only able to finish second at the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985. Although Hamilton looked quick in qualifying and the race, he couldn’t fill the gap enough to give Max Verstappen a real challenge.
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After the race, Mercedes’ strategy was questioned as the two-stop strategy didn’t work. With the Dutch Grand Prix now in the past, Andrew Shovlin, the technical director of the Mercedes circuit, spoke about his considerations at the time of Hamilton’s second pit stop.
Andrew Shovlin admits that Mercedes was hoping for a different tire choice than Red Bull
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On lap 39, Hamilton made his second pit stop for new media. This made Red Bull a difficult choice as they ran out of mid-size tires. However, the Dutchman came for a new set of hard tires on the next lap, which helped him to victory.
After the race, Shovlin mentioned that the tire breakdown required a two-stop strategy. He said: “The pace at the front has been very fast and the deterioration has resulted in two stops.”
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 4th, 2021 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in qualifying REUTERS / Piroschka Van De Wouw
While admitting that Hamilton lost time on the first stop, he revealed that the Silver Arrows were hoping Red Bull would put on soft tires at Verstappen’s second pit stop. “We lost a bit of time on the first stop when Lewis switched to medium and while Max was catching up our pace seemed a little better on that tire and we could close and follow more easily,” said Shovlin.
“We didn’t have many options until the last stop, we decided to leave relatively early, maybe optimistic in the hope that they would take a soft to cover us, but they matched the hard and it worked well for them, that was it.”
DIVE DEEPER
Lewis Hamilton falls behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship
Hamilton came to Zandvoort three points ahead of Verstappen. Although the Brit scored an extra point for the fastest lap on the last lap, his Dutch rival moved back to the top for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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With the Italian Grand Prix coming up this weekend, Hamilton and the Silver Arrows will be trying to recover. Although the Briton is behind Verstappen in the drivers ‘championship, Mercedes Red Bull is still leading the constructors’ championship by 12 points.
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Can the Silver Arrows take their first victory after the summer break in Monza? Or are Verstappen and Red Bull continuing their rich form?
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The post Mercedes F1 director Shovlin reveals what forced her to make Hamilton’s strategic mistake first appeared on monter-une-startup.
