“We are not far ahead yet, but we will continue to develop the car for the time being”; Mercedes had its best weekend of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, taking pole position and double podiums in the race
Last updated: 05/08/22 8:20am
Mercedes said it was “thrilled” for the second half of the season after turning one of its worst weekends of the year into its best at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and promised further improvements to its car.
In the final race before the summer break in Budapest, Mercedes struggled in the middle stages of Friday’s free practice, but was then in contention for its first pole position of 2022.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell eventually finished 2nd and 3rd, beating Ferrari on pure pace.
“We had to make a lot of changes overnight,” technical director Mike Elliott explained in Mercedes’ latest post-race report. “We talked on Friday about some things that went wrong with the set-up.
“The car was unbalanced, with a mix of oversteer and understeer, and the drivers were suffering. On top of losing general grip, we were dealing with a system issue, so let’s cool it down a bit more. We had to.” And that was affecting deployment.
Use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lewis Hamilton says he is very excited about the second half of the season after finishing second at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“Overall there were a lot of things that contributed to it. I didn’t know we were going to be fixing them all. It was very exciting, on qualifying Saturday.”
“This last race was especially satisfying because we weren’t relying on the misfortune of someone dropping out due to reliability issues. It’s always nice to have a vacation period.
“But the most satisfying thing is to see where the car is now in terms of pace in qualifying and in the race. , it’s really satisfying to see Ferrari and Red Bull racing head-on.”
Mercedes looked to have handled the W13 car and its porpoises well, but the lap pace was very positive for Hungary.
Use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Toto Wolff was delighted with Lewis Hamilton’s second-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but was quick to point out that Mercedes were not where they wanted it yet.
The season continues at the Belgian Grand Prix on 28 August, with Red Bull maintaining a large lead in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, while Mercedes has promised further car upgrades.
“We have a lot more in store,” said Elliott. “We are trying to bring some performance to Spa and hopefully we can close that gap. But we will continue to develop the car for the time being.”
“But we are very excited. The last couple of races have been the most fun we have had this year. We want to win races in the near future and hopefully we can take that step. is.
“So we are working hard to achieve that.”
.
Comments
Post a Comment