Mercedes had a terrible start to the season as they failed to get their newly-designed ground-effect F1 car right. The Silver Arrows suffered the consequences and had to bear the porpoising effects during the early stages of the season. The violent bouncing gravely affected the W13’s pace, and the two Mercedes drivers were left to fight in a tough situation, way off the pace compared to the frontrunners, Red Bull and Ferrari. It allowed Red Bull and Ferrari to win all the races so far, while Mercedes was left with a battle to get back at the front.
The start was not so great for the German manufacturer after being in the constructors’ championships for eight straight seasons since 2014. However, the Silver Arrow stayed persistent in their efforts and managed to get over their porpoising troubles finally. Since then, Mercedes have been fighting hard to make up for the delayed development of its car. They have somehow managed to reduce the gap to the front and showed some great deal of consistency over the cours of the last five races. Lewis Hamilton has secured five podiums in the last five races, with double podiums in France and Hungary. In addition, George Russell clinched the first pole for Mercedes this season in Hungary, marking the team’s return back to the front.
However, the Silver Arrows would need more progress to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari for a race win. Hence, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggested that his team needs to carry forward the momentum achieved before the summer break. Mercedes looked quite strong in France and Hungary as Hamilton finished P2 on both occasions. Further, the Silver Arrows secured their highest points in Hungary after Hamilton also recorded the fastest lap of the race.
Wolff Expects Mercedes To Keep The Pressure On:
Wolff stated that Mercedes went into the break with strong performances and their biggest race weekend points this year in Hungary. The Mercedes team principal admitted that his team was not quite in the fight for a race win yet. Toto said that his team was getting closer and needed to keep the momentum going and the pressure on. The Silver Arrows are ready for the intense second half comprising of nine chances to find improvements, make progress, and hopefully challenge the frontrunners for wins.
The former Austrian driver stated that Mercedes were excited to get back to the old-school Spa-Francorchamps track. Wolff hoped his team would put on a great show for the fans this year. They will also celebrate the 55 years of Mercedes-AMG with fun activities.