(Motorsport-Total.com) – Mercedes has confirmed that only a problem with the wheel cover led to Kimi Antonelli’s difficulties at the Formula 1 race in Silverstone. The team, however, rules out a more extensive technical defect.
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Antonelli had driven over a curb at the British Grand Prix when suddenly a part of the brake duct came loose and flipped upwards. This caused the Italian great difficulties with handling and forced him to pit twice.
After the race, the championship leader said: “We know what it was. However, we do not know if there is something else, because honestly, I think it could be more than just the wheel cover. But the team has not yet had the opportunity to analyze the car.”
But after extensive analysis in the days following the race, Mercedes concluded that it was only a defect in the component that is part of the brake duct.
“Many have asked what happened to Kimi’s car last Sunday, and it was simply a problem with the front brake duct. To be precise, a part of the brake duct called the wheel cover,” says deputy technical director Simone Resta in a team video.
“Basically, we had a defect 10 laps before the end of the race, and the component began to give way. This massively affected the behavior of the suspension and also the steering. It lost feedback, making the car almost undrivable,” says the former Ferrari and Haas engineer.
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As it later turned out, Antonelli was driving an asymmetrical Formula 1 car that had lost 100 points of aerodynamic efficiency on the left side. That was not all: the airflow of the brake duct for cooling the brakes as well as the supply of fresh air to the drums were also impaired.
Although the wheel cover affected the suspension geometry and the natural travel of the steering rod, Antonelli continued to drive to try to bring home important points. However, he went off track several times and received a five-second penalty for track limits.
The final safety car phase for Max Verstappen’s off-track incident did the rest and dropped the Bolognese from ninth to 16th place in the final classification.
“Kimi showed a lot of fighting spirit,” praises Resta. “He really wanted to stay on track and give himself the best chance to score points. As I said, the car was almost undrivable, and that is exactly why Kimi went off track several times.”
“Unfortunately, Kimi received a five-second penalty for exactly this reason, which was added to his final time. He was very unlucky, but it was a strong sign of the performance and resilience of our young driver,” says Resta.
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