In Monaco, Lewis Hamilton opted to use the previous model of the Mercedes front wing.
Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he will be receiving the same front wing upgrade as George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix, having declined the chance to toss a coin for it in Monaco.
Russell had said he and Hamilton were set for a 50/50 decision over which driver would get the one new wing available for Monaco, but after trying it in the simulator, Russell said the seven-time World Champion was “happy for me to use it” in Monte Carlo, due to the “risk” attached with only having one new part available.
Lewis Hamilton to receive upgraded Mercedes front wing for Canadian GP
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper
Hamilton had said over the weekend that he knew he was “automatically going to lose two tenths” in qualifying with Russell having the upgraded front wing and it having a positive impact on the W15 around Monaco.
However, he confirmed that the part will be present on his side of the garage in Montréal, with a two-week interval until the Canadian Grand Prix.
“In the end, my aim is to consistently give my utmost effort every weekend, pushing myself to the limit and dedicating everything I have for the benefit of this team,” expressed Hamilton during a media interaction that included PlanetF1.com in Monaco.
I am genuinely thrilled to witness the team continuously introducing upgrades. In the past three races, we have been fortunate to witness the implementation of upgrades.
George’s performance this weekend was also positive, so I’ll obtain that next week. Hopefully, in the upcoming races, we will have more opportunities to keep pushing and strive to narrow that gap.
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Russell had explained that, with one wing produced in time for the Monaco Grand Prix, the two Mercedes drivers were going to decide between them which one would run the new part in Monte Carlo.
Following a trial in the simulator, Russell confirmed that Hamilton was willing to provide his teammate with the upgrade on this particular occasion.
Russell informed Channel 4 that over the weekend, there was only one front wing available. It was decided on Tuesday that a coin toss would determine who would receive it.
Lewis gave me permission to use it this weekend after he tested it on the sim and acknowledged the potential risks involved.
Starting from the pit lane would be inevitable if we made an error during qualification and caused damage to the front wing. Consequently, that particular front wing would become unusable for the rest of the race.
I was delighted to embrace the risk associated with using it, considering it as a delayed birthday gift he presented me with, granting me permission to make use of it.
Russell denied the occurrence of the coin toss for the front wing when questioned, stating, “No, we didn’t carry out the coin toss.”
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