Julien Simon-Chautemps is surprised by the lack of improvements made by Mercedes
Former Alfa Romeo engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps expected more improvements from Mercedes, which is far from its usual level at the beginning of the season, but nonetheless has high hopes for the upcoming arrival of an all-new W13.
This season, teams have to deal with brand new regulations. While most of them were caught off guard by the side effects of the ground effect, the biggest challenge undoubtedly lies in the current budget cap.
Indeed, each step must be considered in the smallest details and each piece chosen carefully. For Julien Simon-Chautemps, former Alfa Romeo engineer, this budget is even more difficult to manage for big teams like Mercedes. Not being accustomed to having to limit their budget, the puzzle is even more significant.
« It is clear that they must first understand what their problems are. » explained the engineer, surprised by the few improvements made so far. « The budget ceiling is also a big problem for the big teams. In the past, they would have bought two, three or four front wings, but they can no longer do so now. ».
Furthermore, Simon-Chautemps expects Mercedes to choose a brand new W13. They will surely wait to have a completely new package, that’s my opinion […]. I think it will be the case very soon, he concluded.
In the meantime, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will have to manage the bottlenose dolphins of the W13 at Imola this weekend.
