Breaking news
Formula 1 Brazilian GP
Mercedes hurt by altitude weakness more than expected
Mercedes’ performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix is being affected by the high-altitude conditions more than the Formula 1 team expected, says Valtteri Bottas.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Nov 19, 2019, 4:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Interlagos circuit is around 800 metres above sea level, which means less oxygen for the engines and a harder test for the turbocharger and MGU-H.
Although it is not as significant as the Mexican Grand Prix, where the circuit is more than 2km above sea-level, the altitude still has an impact in Brazil, and Bottas said it was behind Mercedes’ slightly muted qualifying performance.
“It is having effects,” said Bottas after qualifying fifth-fastest, 0.366s slower than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. “We saw in Mexico, we were probably from the top teams one of the teams that struggled more.
“We see we're still losing on the straight lines, that's the biggest chunks. Just that straight up the hill, losing too much time. That's one of the biggest things. It's very difficult to say more than that really.”
Asked if he was surprised by the Honda-powered Red Bull’s performance on the straights, as his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel had indicated, Bottas added: “They've been strong at times and they're strong in Mexico as well.
“Altitudes will have an effect on engines and the turbo needs to be quite efficient so I know they've done some good steps forward. We knew coming here they would be strong but I think the losses we had on the straights was bigger than we expected.
“So you could say it's slightly surprising, but they made solid progress. Also the chassis is good for them so I'm sure they'll be strong in the race as well.”
Read Also:
Lower air density at altitude means engines work harder to deliver the same power as at other tracks.
However, Mercedes F1 technical director James Allison explained that as there are only two races that are significantly affected by this, trading a compromised package in Mexico and Brazil is better for the balance of the full campaign.
“You try to design the turbo and compressor unit to be good over the whole season,” said Allison.
“You can size your compressor to cope with Mexico and with here, but then you're carrying around hardware that's bigger than it needs to be for the rest of the year. It's always a compromise doing that. And I think probably looking at the last few seasons when we're at altitude, we always tend to be just a little bit less on form.
“That's probably an indication that the position we have picked our compromise is slightly different to the others. That's our best guess.”
Read Also:
- Ferrari insists it changed "nothing" on its F1 engine
- Sainz vows to take “maximum attack” approach in Brazil
Allison also revealed another factor that hindered Mercedes in qualifying: experiments with front tyre temperatures.
He explained that third-place starter Lewis Hamilton’s lap in final practice suggested Mercedes needed to cool the fronts more, which “coloured our perception” heading into qualifying.
“We progressively realised that that was not a good direction,” he said.
“And by the final run of Q3, we get ourselves in a more sensible place, more aligned with everyone else was up to, and got a lap together that was competitive but not good enough for pole.
“Had we been slightly more quick to realise that we'd headed down the wrong path, then we might have had – on a grid that's fairly tight –a better chance of securing a better grid slot than we did.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ferrari form dip "interesting" after pole run – Allison
Next article Ferrari insists it changed "nothing" on its F1 engine
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Mercedes
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
18 h
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Latest news
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
13 h
NASCAR explains why they penalized Zane Smith after latest clash with Carson Hocevar
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 13 h
Porsche boss Laudenbach says he is "not happy" with how things were handled by IMSA in 2026
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
13 h
Five things to watch out for at the F1 United States GP
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 14 h
KTM sees MotoGP 2027 as a fresh start: “We never had the chance to build a new bike”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe