F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Mercedes reveal 45G impact suffered by Hamilton at Spa

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes suffered a "vertical load" impact of 45G as a result of the Briton's contact with Fernando Alonso on the second lap of last Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was attempting a move on the outside of Alonso at Les Combes when he clipped the Alpine and the rear of his car was sent into the air before the altter landed heavily in the corner's run-off area.

While Alonso was able to continue, Hamilton was ordered to park his car on the run down to the double-left Pouhon complex after his Mercedes crews had identified a sudden loss of water pressure.

Despite the impact triggering the FIA's medical warning alert, Hamilton was uninjured, which decided the Briton to forego his mandatory visit to Spa's medical center, a decision that yielded a staunch warning from the FIA.

"It was a large, large impact," Mercedes strategy director James Vowles said in the team's post-race debrief video on YouTube.

"It was measured at 45G on the SDR recorder in the car which is very big on a vertical load.

"He will be okay, he will be back in Zandvoort fighting. I think primarily for him he is frustrated, frustrated that he had a very fast race car, and a podium was possible but he, like all of us, are here to fight and continue moving forward."

Read also:

Vowles said that Mercedes is currently undertaking a thorough inspection and diagnosis of Hamilton's brand new power unit as well as the car's gearbox which was cracked by the impact.

All suspension components are also being closely examined ahaed of next weekend's race.

"There are enough photos floating around the internet to show just how high the car was and how it landed and the impact was large," said Vowles.

"What we noticed almost immediately after the impact on the ground was a loss of coolant.

"You can actually see on the onboard of Alonso that coolant really just flying out towards him, and then you started to see temperatures rise fairly quickly and that was the primary reason for stopping him on track.

"It will now take a few days to review all the components, clearly there are going to be overloads to the suspension components and gearbox and we need to make sure to understand the full extent of what’s required before Zandvoort."

©Mercedes

Vowles underscored Mercedes' race pace at Spa which was comparable to Ferrari's speed on Sunday afternoon. But the team's deficit in qualifying remains significant.

"The approach and philosophy of what you are doing in terms of prioritising race pace or qualifying pace, I think might be different between the two teams," commented the British engineer.

"Obviously, the numbers are large, they are far more vast than we normally see, you would normally expect a tenth or two, not a second.

"What I can say is that we are gaining to them on degradation in the race.

"So, part of it might be just how the tyres are being used and car performance, part of it is degradation. And the bias we’ve got is the one that is scoring points race on race.

"Clearly though we have to improve our qualifying position because it is not just relative to Ferrari, we are also racing in a qualifying condition McLaren and Alpine as well.

"And in order to be racing at the front, in order to get our first win this season we have to make sure that the qualifying improves from where it is and that’s the focus that hasn’t just been this race, we’ve been looking at it across the season, and will continue to do so."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…

45 mins ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas,…

48 mins ago

Leclerc confident Ferrari ‘has a shot’ at F1 Constructors’ title

Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…

2 hours ago

Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition…

3 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

4 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

4 hours ago