LONDON: Mercedes knew they had gearbox sensor issues before last Sunday’s season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and are working around the clock to fix the “complex problem” before this weekend’s next race, strategy director James Vowles said.
Valtteri Bottas won the race at the Red Bull Ring for Mercedes but he and his team mate Lewis Hamilton, the six-times Formula One world champion, were told to avoid the kerbs due to the risk of vibration damage.
Not running aggressively over the kerbs can result in a lap slower by several tenths of a second, however – something drivers cannot afford to do for an entire race.
“The issue itself in the gearbox is electrical by nature and the reality behind it is we now have a few days to get on top of this issue,” Vowles said in a video debrief on the team’s website.
“We have a number of people back at the factory working day and night for this.”
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