Mercedes denies ‘fundamental problem’ with Formula One upgrades amid Lewis Hamilton concerns

Mercedes has denied there is a “fundamental problem” with the upgrades it introduced at the Formula One US Grand Prix, despite Lewis Hamilton’s concerns.

Hamilton faced a nightmare in Austin when his attempt to recover from an early exit in Q1 ended with a spin in the gravel on the second lap.

The Briton scored six points at the start and was 12th at the Hard Circuit when he lost control at Turn 19 and went into the gravel trap.

However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team had not held Hamilton, a record five-time winner of the Circuit of the Americas, accountable.

“There was an incident in this corner today that came out of nowhere,” Wolf told media outlets including Motorsport Week. “He didn’t press at all.

“So where I am at the moment is 100 percent not Lewis’s fault and it doesn’t mean I’m defending him. Clear.

“There was a gusty wind, there was a headwind. How does all this interact?”

Mercedes will continue to modernize COTA

As teammate George Russell crashed in qualifying at the same corner, Hamilton wondered whether Mercedes’ new upgrades had contributed to his bizarre incident.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton suspects Mercedes upgrades are behind Formula 1’s US Grand Prix

Russell’s determination to snatch sixth place from the pit lane with old-spec parts reinforced Hamilton’s feeling that something was wrong with his W15.

But while he acknowledged Russell’s progress in the race with the previous package, Wolff insisted Mercedes had no plans to ditch the upgrades.

“I don’t think we have a fundamental question about modernization,” the Austrian emphasized.

“I think it’s more synergy in aerodynamics and mechanics, and so I mean we’re going to continue to upgrade.

“It doesn’t make sense not to do it because you have a lot of time, but on the other hand you need to be very open-minded.

“I mean, George rode the July upgrade today because we didn’t have a spot and it seemed pretty competitive in the race.”

Wolff puzzled by Mercedes’ loss of pace

Instead, Wolff argues that Mercedes’ biggest challenge is understanding the reason for the team’s sharp decline in competitiveness over the weekend.

“However, if you are missing a few tenths in qualifying, it makes a big difference because it is not as good as it should be,” he continued.

“So it’s more than just understanding why we have a car that on Friday (Hamilton) was by far the fastest before the situation with (Franco) Colapinto.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton regrets yellow flag cost him sprint pole at Formula 1 US Grand Prix

“He was four-tenths up and there were just problems in the last sector but he would have been fastest and then on Saturday it all changed.

“In the sprint race our suspension broke. This is one explanation. We corrected the fact that nothing was going well in qualifying and started to pick up the pace.”