Explaining Austin’s ‘plank’ drama & Mercedes’ important upgrades

On this week's show host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson dive straight into the topic of those dramatic disqualifications to Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the US Grand Prix. Gary explains how each car came to have excessive wear to the planks on the car's underfloor, why the plank is there in the first place, and why it was surprising the two teams came to be in the situation.

After that, Edd and Gary discuss the major upgrades that Mercedes introduced in Austin, which tech chief James Allison described as a 'bellwether' for 2024. Gary gives his thoughts on the direction the team appear to be moving in, and whether the team's disqualification with Hamilton says anything about the benefits the package seems to have brought.

There's also chat about the brake issues Aston Martin suffered in Austin, and how they affected the team's desire to assess their own package of upgrades. And in the final instalment of 'upgrade watch', Gary gives his thoughts on the package of parts Haas brought to their home event, and why he was confused by their approach.

As ever, we close out the show with a pair of questions from listeners, which this time are on battery technology and whether outdated wings and floors are recycled.

The Race F1 Tech Show, brought to you by Aramco. 

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