Mercedes’ next upgrade is scheduled for the United States Grand Prix in two weeks, which follows this weekend’s first Japanese Grand Prix since 2019.
The Silver Arrows faced a disappointing Singapore Grand Prix last weekend, after what was looking set to be a very promising weekend.
Both Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell appeared to be strong across Free Practice, with Hamilton astonishingly topping FP1, the first session he’s topped all season.
Qualifying was a mixed story for the Germans, as Russell was eliminated during Q2 following a reported problem. However, Hamilton sealed a P3 start for Sunday’s race after being less than a tenth behind polesitter Charles Leclerc.
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The race, unfortunately, was another one for the reigning Constructors’ Champions to forget about, after Russell finished P14 and Hamilton finished ninth.
The seven-time World Champion was in the battle for third with Carlos Sainz for the majority of the race, but locked-up going into Turn Seven on Lap 33 and crashed directly into the tyre barrier.
The resulting crash dropped Hamilton to fifth; however, he was forced to pit for a new front-wing following the collision, due to a broken endplate.
Hamilton would’ve finished eighth at the Marina Bay Circuit if it weren’t for another error at the end of the race, where he accidentally went onto the wet part of the circuit at Turn Eight whilst on the Medium tyres, forcing him wide.
His second error of the race dropped the 37-year-old to ninth, after the mistake at Turn Eight allowed a recovering Max Verstappen to overtake.
The disappointing result meant Mercedes only scored two World Championship points, which dropped the Brackley-based team to 69 points behind Ferrari with just five races remaining.
The gap between the two increased from 35 to 69 in a single race, following Leclerc and Sainz finishing second and third, sealing the Maranello-based team’s first double podium finish since the Miami Grand Prix.
Neither side took an upgrade to Singapore and are reportedly not going to be installing any at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix; however, Mercedes are set to introduce a final upgrade at the Circuit of the Americas.
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The Germans and the Italians are supposedly not planning on many, if any, further upgrades this season, with the two sides believed to be close to the 2022 budget cap limit.
It comes at a time when Red Bull have reportedly been found guilty of exceeding the 2021 budget cap, something which if true, could well become the biggest scandal in the history of Formula 1.
Despite being under fire at the moment for a potentially monumental rule break, the Austrians fitted new underbody baffles at last weekend’s race at Singapore, which featured small profile changes, according to AMuS.