Belgian Grand Prix

Wolff admits Mercedes 'BARN DOOR' didn't work in Belgian GP qualifying

Chris Deeley Saturday 29 July 2023 10:57

Wolff admits Mercedes 'BARN DOOR' didn't work in Belgian GP qualifying

Toto Wolff has admitted that Mercedes are unsure how well their new upgrades are performing at the Belgian Grand Prix thanks to a day of wet running on Friday.

The Mercedes chief went on to describe George Russell's rear wing as 'a bit of a barn door' compared to Lewis Hamilton's, with the younger driver not using the low-downforce configuration that his more experienced team-mate bolted on.

Hamilton qualified fourth, moving up to third on the grid thanks to Max Verstappen's five-place penalty, while Russell could only put his car eighth despite getting the best version of the track for his final lap.

The expectation is that Russell's more downforce-focused setup will help him in the long race runs, helping extract more from the tyres.

Wolff: We need to assess rear wing performance

"P3 is good. You can see that it’s pretty bunched up from P2 onwards.

“I think we couldn’t really assess whether our new parts are working because of the tricky conditions so let’s hope for a dry Saturday and dry Sunday.

“You can see that (Lewis and George) are running very different rear wings and configurations and you can see that Lewis is just able to extract more performance of that.

“George has a bit of a barn door in the back and that can be advantageous for tyre performance on Sunday but didn’t help today so we have to assess why it didn’t.”

Latest News

GPFans Recap

Verstappen delivers team-mate admission as star dealt early RETIREMENT - GPFans F1 Recap

2 hours ago

F1 Social

F1 fans poke fun at star-studded affair in Las Vegas GP blunder

3 hours ago

Latest F1 News

Verstappen delivers heartwarming Ricciardo tribute in team-mate admission

Yesterday 21:59

Latest F1 News

Verstappen TAUNTS F1 rival with powerful championship claim

Yesterday 21:11

F1 Today

F1 News Today: Red Bull boss delivers DAMNING statement as FIA announce title twist penalty

Yesterday 20:26

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Hamilton delivers team-mate JIBE as F1 champion lets loose - Five things you may have missed from the Las Vegas GP

Yesterday 19:58

More news

F1 Race Calendar 2024

GP AUSTRIA 28 - 30 Jun

George Russell

GP GREAT BRITAIN 5 - 7 Jul

Lewis Hamilton

GP HUNGARY 19 - 21 Jul

Oscar Piastri

GP BELGIUM 26 - 28 Jul

Lewis Hamilton

GP NETHERLANDS 23 - 25 Aug

Lando Norris

GP ITALY 30 Aug - 1 Sep

Charles Leclerc

GP AZERBAIJAN 13 - 15 Sep

Oscar Piastri

GP SINGAPORE 20 - 22 Sep

Lando Norris

GP USA 18 - 20 Oct

Charles Leclerc

GP MEXICO 25 - 27 Oct

GP QATAR 29 Nov - 1 Dec

GP ABU DHABI 6 - 8 Dec

Complete kalender 2024

F1 News 24/7

Races

About GPFans

GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.

We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.

With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.

Follow us on your favorite social media channel

Corporate & Media

Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY