Mercedes takes a risk and will debut package on the streets of Monaco

Mercedes has decided to go ahead with the plan to make a major update to its car even with the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna GP, and it will be very different in the next stage, the Monaco GP, which will be held next weekend. . The package ranges from changes to the front suspension to body shapes, including the sides and floor.

The decision is risky, but it turned out to be the only solution for the team, as the new package was already on the trucks sent to Imola and which will now cover the 350km road to Monaco and includes mechanical parts. The team has three kits with the new parts, that is, one for each car and a spare.

This is important because they are parts so different from the previous ones that, in case of missing a spare part, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton would run the risk of starting from the pits, something very bad on a track where it is difficult to overtake as in Monaco. This rule takes effect from the moment the cars leave the pits in qualifying: if something has to be changed after an accident, the driver only escapes having to leave the pitlane if the new part is of the same specification.

Why don’t teams usually debut pieces in Monaco?

But debuting a big package in Monaco is not unusual for that alone. As the corners are relatively slow, it is difficult to assess aerodynamic improvements. And even a different package, with larger wings, is used to adapt the car to the specific needs of Montecarlo.

But Mercedes’ upgrades are more extensive than just an aero package. And it’s also a fact that Mercedes has seen very positive figures in the simulations with the new package, so it has reason to be confident of an improvement.

There are other teams that had news prepared for the GP of Emilia Romagna, the first of the European season. But more likely they will wait for the next race, in Spain, to use all the news.

Ferrari, for example, had decided to skip the Monaco GP when it set up the update schedule in three parts: one of them already debuted in Miami, the second would come in Imola and the third only in Barcelona. The column contacted the team, who indicated that the schedule remains unchanged, although it maintains its policy of not officially commenting on updates before the GPs.

Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri are others that predicted the debut of several new parts in what would be the sixth stage of the calendar.

The cancellation of the Imola stage ends up increasing the importance of the Spanish GP, which takes place right after the race in Monaco, in early June. In Barcelona we will certainly see several novelties in cars.