George Russell has revealed that he proposed Mercedes hold a “coin toss” to decide which driver will receive the updated front wing the team debuted ahead of last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Unfortunately Mercedes only had one example of the new spec element, which ultimately landed on Russell’s W15 after Lewis Hamilton opted out of a rather unconventional method of attribution.
A lightweight approach suggests that the decision is less important, as the performance difference between a new and old front wing is likely to be minimal.
But Hamilton, a veteran of testing the new wing in the simulator, felt using the aero element would carry significant risk as damage to the updated component in qualifying would mean a pitlane departure.
Russell, on the other hand, was comfortable taking his chances on a new wing.
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Russell told the Channel 4 F1 broadcast team: He said: “We had one front wing this weekend and we agreed to flip a coin on Tuesday and see who won it.
“Lewis said he had used it in Sim and was excited to use it this weekend because it doesn’t come without risks.
“If you make a mistake in qualifying and damage it, of course you can’t use the front wing again, so you have to start from the pit lane.
“I was glad I took the risk and tried it, and I thought it was a belated birthday present when they said I could use it.”
In the end, Russell beat Hamilton in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday, a result the seven-time world champion had expected.
Nonetheless, he was pleased with the pace of Mercedes’ progress as the Brackley team struggled to catch up to their leading rivals.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to seeing the team bring the upgrade,” said Hamilton. “You know the upgrades have been made over the last three races.”
“George’s race this weekend was also positive so we’ll be able to get that out of the way next week. Hopefully there will be more in the next few races so we can continue to try and close the gap.”
Mercedes currently sits fourth in the Formula 1 constructors’ standings after eight races, 88 points behind third-placed team McLaren.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Hamilton is eighth, 12 points behind Russell in seventh.
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