The good feelings with which Lewis Hamilton and George Russell ended the day on Friday, added to the positive data that the engineers’ simulations show at Silverstone, presage an even brighter future for the silver star.
The 3rd place that Mercedes has achieved up to five times so far this year is the closest that those commanded by Toto Wolff have come to harvesting their first victory of 2022, a very different story with respect to what they were used to in the German team in its recent history.
Three podiums of George Russell, by two of a Lewis Hamilton who has been overtaken by his new teammate, make up the maximum loot that they have been able to rescue in the 9 races that have been held to date, a trend that they trust to change as soon like this weekend
encouraging signs
So much so that Andrew Shovlin, the main engineer of Mercedes in Formula 1, is the first to be optimistic. “If that It seems that we have taken a step forwardbecause normally we are not close to the head on a Friday”, he confessed in statements to sky sport f1.
“I suspect that we will have to wait a little longer from Ferrari and Red Bull, but in the long run the data has also been quite encouraging. We typically see a gap of half a second, maybe even 7-8 tenthsrelative to the fastest teams in the long run, but it didn’t seem like that was the case here,” Shovlin continued.
Modifying the way they approach weekends has been of great benefit to them so far, a procedure that they still need to consolidate. «We have learned that taking big steps towards qualifying is not a great idea, because if you make a mistake you keep paying for it in qualifying and in the race. We were quite aggressive at the beginning, there may be something more to come », he explained.
«The hopeful thing is not so much that the circuit adapts to us, but that there is circuits where the car works well. Coming from three fairly bumpy, low-speed street circuits, we understood why we were struggling in that regard,” added Shovlin.
«We know why the car is good here and we know why it was bad thenwe can try to improve it”, closed a Shovlin that seems to have found the reason for the greatest evil of Mercedes so far this year.
Compliant pilots
The good feelings of the Mercedes engineering section are ratified by those who risk their lives on the asphalt every racing weekend: the drivers, or at least George Russel. “If you look at the last 3 races, they have all been pretty much the same when it comes to low speed, bumpy street circuits», highlighted #63.
“So this high-speed nature of Silverstone, with a smoother surface, definitely will play in our favor a little more. Even so, there are no guarantees, because in each race we unlock a different unknown of the car, but we have relatively faith that this will be a more competitive weekend for us; not only because of the updates, but because of the nature of the circuit », he detailed.
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How far can Mercedes go at Silverstone? “I believe that we will probably be at the level of Red Bull and FerrariRussell asserted. “I don’t see us ahead of them, especially on Saturdays: they certainly seem to have an advantage in the standings, I think we are the only team to narrow the gap to the top guys on Sunday.”
“Normally it’s the other way around, and that’s very promising for us, because right now we just lack downforce, although there is a good car. it will be interestingObviously this is the first time the real cars have been tested in high-speed corners; it will be complicated, since the edges of the floor hit the ground, we will have to deal with it », he concluded.
hunger for victory
For its part, toto wolff he once again put his first sword, Lewis Hamilton, ahead of all drivers in the history of Formula 1.
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“I believe that if we give him a car that is a few tenths from the leaders he will win the race. He is the most complete driver in history. Everyone has his favorite circuit, and for Lewis it was always Silverstone, Montréal and the Hungaroring. Having 150,000 people cheering you on in the stands gives you the advantage of playing at home,” said the Austrian manager.
«I hope we have something that brings us closer to the leaders than we were until now. Lewis deserves a good result and a victory, because he has been very unlucky this season, and George’s driving has been simply spectacular. Whether he wins or Lewis does, it would be very exciting for both of them.”