Blimey, Crikey, Sugar, Oh My Word

Streets are saying they want to fire or put Shovlin behind the scenes.

Ok so this is not exactly what was said and it’s mostly a rumour.

This convo between Roberto Chinchero and Franco Nugnes happened after 2023 Brazilian GP, it’s in Italian so if you are not a native/Italian speaker, I hope you will find a way to get subs.

I will try to translate the bit about Shov as closely to the source as possible.

The bit on Shov starts around the 14:22 mark and lasts about 30 seconds.

They are discussing about Mercedes’ performance at Brazilian GP (💀) and the problems the team has faced this year.

Nugnes is saying that Mercedes’ technical-aerodynamic branch seems to be a bit “worn-out” (opposite to their engines’ reliability), and that it wouldn’t surprise him if more changes could eventually happen in that area (aside from Mike Elliott leaving the team, for ex, this was mentioned earlier on).

A name that is being rumoured is Shov’s, a man who has always been considered a great chief engineer and leader, but maybe now it’s not the case anymore.

(Chinchero never replies to this specific mention, so it’s just a name being dropped in passing, and it’s, per Nugnes’ words, “talked about”, but we don’t know by whom nor why, exactly. There are no explicit talks of Shov being fired or put behind the scenes here, frankly).

I have no idea how much truth there might be behind such a rumour, tbh, but as Chinchero says later on, Mercedes is now entering its third season as a non-WDC contestant, and even worse, as a non-race winner for the very first time after many, many years.

F1 is a very dynamic sport, and shall they fail again in getting their shit together for the third time in a row, with the car and as a team, they would not be exactly discarded/forgotten, but surely enough not celebrated nor protected by their past winners clout, either.

Of course Shov’s ass could be on the line as we speak- this could mean nothing at all, but considering Lewis’ own comments on their relationship:

Seems like Shov is someone not afraid to speak his mind or to challenge people when he feels it’s right to do so.

We have seen various key figures leave, in one way or another, at this point, but while Andrew’s strong will could not be always welcomed by everyone, and as nugnes implied he could’ve also started taking some L’s in his chief role, it’s also true that he’s been part of Mercedes since forever.

This is very important and something not to dismiss with the shake of ones hand, because while Elliott has been with Mercedes for around 13 years, which is a lot, Shov has been in Brackley since basically the very beginning.

Streets are saying they want to fire or put Shovlin behind the scenes.

Ok so this is not exactly what was said and it’s mostly a rumour.

This convo between Roberto Chinchero and Franco Nugnes happened after 2023 Brazilian GP, it’s in Italian so if you are not a native/Italian speaker, I hope you will find a way to get subs.

I will try to translate the bit about Shov as closely to the source as possible.

The bit on Shov starts around the 14:22 mark and lasts about 30 seconds.

They are discussing about Mercedes’ performance at Brazilian GP (💀) and the problems the team has faced this year.

Nugnes is saying that Mercedes’ technical-aerodynamic branch seems to be a bit “worn-out” (opposite to their engines’ reliability), and that it wouldn’t surprise him if more changes could eventually happen in that area (aside from Mike Elliott leaving the team, for ex, this was mentioned earlier on).

A name that is being rumoured is Shov’s, a man who has always been considered a great chief engineer and leader, but maybe now it’s not the case anymore.

(Chinchero never replies to this specific mention, so it’s just a name being dropped in passing, and it’s, per Nugnes’ words, “talked about”, but we don’t know by whom nor why, exactly. There are no explicit talks of Shov being fired or put behind the scenes here, frankly).

I have no idea how much truth there might be behind such a rumour, tbh, but as Chinchero says later on, Mercedes is now entering its third season as a non-WDC contestant, and even worse, as a non-race winner for the very first time after many, many years.

F1 is a very dynamic sport, and shall they fail again in getting their shit together for the third time in a row, with the car and as a team, they would not be exactly discarded/forgotten, but surely enough not celebrated nor protected by their past winners clout, either.

Of course Shov’s ass could be on the line as we speak- this could mean nothing at all, but considering Lewis’ own comments on their relationship:

Seems like Shov is someone not afraid to speak his mind or to challenge people when he feels it’s right to do so.

We have seen various key figures leave, in one way or another, at this point, but while Andrew’s strong will could not be always welcomed by everyone, and as nugnes implied he could’ve also started taking some L’s in his chief role, it’s also true that he’s been part of Mercedes since forever.

This is very important and something not to dismiss with the shake of ones hand, because while Elliott has been with Mercedes for around 13 years, which is a lot, Shov has been in Brackley since basically the very beginning.