P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Mercedes says its 2025 F1 rear suspension upgrade will end up “in a bin”. Why did it take the team so long to realise there was an issue?
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff acknowledges that the rear suspension update, introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, will likely be discarded, as the team’s performance improved when reverting to the old specification in Hungary. George Russell’s third-place finish in Hungary showcased Mercedes’ strong race pace without the rear suspension, indicating that it was not meeting expectations. The rear suspension was initially used at Imola but dropped for Monaco and Spain due to uncertainties about its performance. Wolff admitted it took time to identify the stability issues caused by the rear suspension and expressed confidence in the team’s decision to remove it. The team believes that the performance improvement in Hungary was not a ‘false positive’ as driver feedback confirmed increased stability in the car without the rear suspension. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin emphasized that despite the success in Canada with the rear suspension, ongoing concerns about entry stability prompted its removal for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
