For the second race in a row, Lewis Hamilton completed because the on-track runner-up to Max Verstappen – though he was later disqualified from america GP for ending with a very worn plank.
Final weekend in Mexico Metropolis, he climbed from sixth on the grid to path the Pink Bull winner by 14 seconds. In the meantime, team-mate George Russell rose two locations to categorise sixth.
Whereas the headline outcomes and robust race tempo comply with an upgraded flooring debuting in Texas, Wolff nonetheless reckoned that the Mexico efficiency is also attributed to an engine repair.
He reckoned the Brixworth-based Excessive Efficiency Powertrains website had addressed a lingering turbocharger challenge whereby it struggled to breathe and overheated within the thin air at excessive altitude, as per Mexico Metropolis.
Wolff mentioned: “HPP has accomplished a improbable job over the previous few years – that was all the time our Achilles’ heel right here that the turbo did not breathe adequate.
“That is sorted and it is a robust weekend. Our energy unit was like all of the others.
“I could not be extra happy with what HPP has achieved with the ability unit.”
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14
Wolff added that engine temperatures had been secure and that Hamilton’s effort to maneuver out of the tow of the automobiles forward was to seek out cooler air to handle the brake callipers as a substitute.
In race trim, Hamilton and Russell registered 14th and fifteenth within the velocity traps final weekend. That compares to 2022, once they ranked sixteenth and 18th.
Wolff additionally reckoned the Mexican weekend, which ran with the standard three follow periods slightly than the dash format used within the USA, had validated the positive aspects from the brand new flooring. Though, he famous the W14 had some elementary flaws that might not be solved with in-season developments.
The Austrian continued: “We’ve seen that it’s offering extra downforce, extra drivability. The automotive is a bit bit much less difficult. Nonetheless, the genes are there. Lewis mentioned to me, ‘She’s nonetheless so tough to drive, though she’s sooner’.
“It was vital whether or not directionally we have been getting into the best course for subsequent 12 months and gave the impression to be on the best path.
“You have to not overlook, the automotive that we have designed did not have that flooring, that airflow, these sidepods, main edges and all of the Christmas ornament…”