How to drive a hybrid Mercedes F1 car at Goodwood

This modern classic helped Lewis Hamilton achieve his four Formula 1 World Championship and secured Mercedes a Constructors’ Championship title in 2017. All in all, winning 12 times, three times with Valtteri Bottas and nine times with Hamilton. Out of 20 races the innovative hybrid car only notched one retirement. A truly dominant showing by a car that can now confidently class itself as one of the best ever F1 platforms. What a treat then to see what it can do around our historic, bumpy, narrow Motor Circuit In mid-October.

The man in the hot seat tasked with keeping up appearances is none other than the disarmingly down-to-earth Esteban Guitiérrez. As the Mercedes reserve driver, Esteban is not only gifted with impeccable professionalism, charm and good manners. He’s a young man with a God-given talent for speed.

Excitedly, he can’t wait to share how his weekend is going: “I made 286km/h on the back straight on Saturday”. That’s a nether-region tingling 177.7mph with cold tyres and very little run-off area. The boy is brave.

“These cars are designed to go very fast, but also to brake heavily. I found this track is a lot of high speed corners. Lots of flow and very little braking.  In modern F1 we have a lot of run off areas, gravel, tarmac etc. You feel quite comfortable, because you know that if you make a mistake, it’s a bit more forgiving and predictable. Whereas here, a lot of the corners are blind, it’s only grass, and it’s one of those places where you really can’t make any mistakes”.

Watching the Mercedes set up this weekend and following their progress over the modern era of F1, mistakes are not something they make a habit of.

“It is very challenging to drive here. You have to be careful. You want to respect the environment and be wary of the amazing classic cars around as well. Yesterday following the Safety Car, it was very tough. With these hybrid engine cars, you need to keep the temperatures of the engine up. If you’re not able to put down some revs, you aren’t able to keep that temperature. So there’s a lot of management going on to keep heat in the brakes, the engine and on the tyres”.

If 286km/h is Esteban driving carefully, we’d love to see what this talent can do when he is unleashed on a modern circuit.

“It’s a huge responsibility,” Esteban says. “The fact that it is a relaxed environment naturally puts you in a more vulnerable position. The track is a historic track. All this means as a driver, you really have to concentrate fully, perhaps even more so than usual.”

With the W08’s 1,000PS and incredible levels of torque powering a car that weights around 750kg approximately, 0-100km/h takes an eye-popping 2.6 seconds. The top speed at a circuit like Monza would be something like 360km/h, or 224mph. In such a brute like this, downforce is a key.

“It’s seriously impressive the amount of force you have on acceleration, and downforce is very powerful with all the aggressive wings. You massively feel that around a circuit like this. You can really feel the grip and stability of the car.”

Esteban is quick to point out the efficiency of these modern F1 cars, especially when comparing it to the older generation V8s that he has plenty of racing experience with.

“It has been incredible to witness the change, from V8 naturally-aspirated engines to hybrid V6-turbos. You could see the change in technology, and how complex that change has been to make the cars more efficient. We had to do full races with 100kg of fuel. Before we were racing with 120/130kgs, so it’s a big reduction, and a big achievement to still be able to race flat out and build a legend while still being more efficient. Before the current era we used to have 15 electronic boxes in the car. Now we have about 30. So there is a lot of engineering, a lot of hours, to make this car as efficient, drivable and successful as possible”.

Talking in this way to Esteban, sat across each-other on a wooden picnic bench, it’s remarkable how at ease and confident he is with his place in the world. This is a man that knows he is doing a great job, for a great team. The way in which he expresses himself and the goals of his employers, without sounding like a PR-diluted robot, is genuinely impressive. It bodes well for his future in the sport. It’s a new maturity that he too is noticing within himself.

“I feel very honoured to be part of the Mercedes team and brand. It is a team in F1 that has built and achieved so much in such a short time. The level of communication and professionalism in the team is unreal. To be able to live that personally has taught me so many lessons. It has enabled me to drive and test the cars, I’ve been able to drive the simulator, I’ve been able to work with the world’s best engineers and mechanics. But I’ve also been exposed to working in the commercial and management teams also. I am very passionate about racing and I am very passionate about business. So this is a perfect combination for me now.”

Summarising his here and now, the Mexican racing driver is completely immersed in the Goodwood experience, fully aware how spectacular his attendance with the W08 is in the 70 Years of F1 Tribute.

“It has been great to chat to Sir Jackie, as well as Emerson before going out on the track. We were discussing how different the cars look. Seeing the evolution of the sport we all love. Huge respect to those guys. When you see how those guys are driving the older cars, it’s really insane. At the same time, they ask me a lot about the modern technology and what it’s like to manage a hybrid car like this, how much power there is. It’s great to share that respect and those stories.”

Esteban describes the experience of leading this pack of legendary race machines and drivers out each day as an honour. But on the behalf of everyone at Goodwood, can we say how much of an honour it was to have him and the Mercedes W08 in attendance. We knew it would be good, but we didn’t think it would be 286km/h good.

Photography by Pete Summers, James Lynch, Jordan Butters, Jayson Fong and Nick Dungan.