Mercedes Expresses Concerns Over Maintaining Silverstone Momentum at Hungarian GP

Mercedes acknowledges a significant change in Hungary that could hinder their chances of winning in F1.

"It makes you somewhat anxious because keeping up the performance we had at Silverstone will be quite challenging."

Mercedes is skeptical about their ability to repeat their Silverstone success at the upcoming F1 Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

In the last few weeks, Mercedes has seen a significant improvement in their performance, securing two wins.

During the previous British Grand Prix, Mercedes earned the top two starting positions based on their performance and maintained first and second place while the track was dry.

Lewis Hamilton turned that opportunity into his initial Formula 1 win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, validating that Mercedes' advancements are real.

With the Hungaroring circuit having a very different configuration compared to Silverstone's and anticipating much hotter track conditions, Mercedes is uncertain about their ability to challenge Red Bull and McLaren.

During an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast, Andrew Shovlin, who is the head of trackside engineering at Mercedes, remarked, "We definitely don't have the mindset of having won the previous race; our focus is on winning the upcoming one. It actually makes us a bit anxious because keeping up the level of performance we showed at Silverstone will be quite challenging."

"The key distinction for Hungary lies in assessing if we've improved our long-term performance in hot conditions. In Barcelona and Austria, we struggled to keep up with Lando and Max during extended runs, as their cars were significantly ahead of ours. We're optimistic that we've made some advancements."

In Spain and Austria, where it was significantly warmer, Mercedes lagged well behind the leading two teams.

George Russell secured a victory at the Red Bull Ring, benefiting from an incident between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. However, it was evident that there was a shortfall.

Shovlin remains uncertain whether Mercedes has managed to close the gap at this point.

He mentioned that considering the size of the gap in the last two races, it would be surprising if they could close it substantially. However, he also noted that they were taken aback by their performance in the first stint at Silverstone.

"We didn't anticipate being able to create a gap during that less eventful segment of the race. We expected it to be similar to the situation in Barcelona, where George took the lead but had the other two drivers closely trailing him."

"That course presents unique challenges. We are able to replicate some of those issues. We have an understanding of the types of difficulties we might encounter. Our focus will be on thorough preparation to ensure we begin with the optimal setup. How do we improve from that point?"

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