Mercedes Struggles in Hungarian Heat: Hamilton and Russell Eye Overnight Fixes to Challenge McLaren and Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton commented that Mercedes is "not performing well" in Hungary, as their difficulties with hot weather persist. It was a challenging day for the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time F1 world champion, acknowledged that Mercedes struggled during Friday's practice sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In the second practice session, which provided a more accurate indication of performance, Hamilton recorded the seventh fastest time, trailing Lando Norris' leading time by 0.6 seconds.

George Russell also struggled in the other Mercedes, managing to secure the fifth fastest time in the second practice session.

Summarizing his experience at the Hungaroring, Hamilton remarked: “Today hasn't gone well overall. The weather has been pleasant and it's nice to be here, but we haven't performed at our best today."

"The car's setup hasn't been optimal. We believe we know the reason. We'll work on it overnight. The preparations haven't been great so far."

Hamilton suggested that Mercedes could make a crucial adjustment overnight to enhance their performance, mentioning "there's a specific thing".

Despite having previously won the Hungarian Grand Prix eight times, Hamilton firmly believed that Mercedes lacked the speed to match either McLaren or Red Bull.

"There were only minor adjustments, but the car was largely unchanged between the sessions," he stated. "We did alter one specific aspect for this weekend, but we need to revert it. Everything else is fairly similar."

"While we couldn't match the lap times of the others today, our long run pace was satisfactory in the end."

Ever since Mercedes debuted their new front wing in Monaco, they have experienced significant progress.

They have secured victory in two competitions, triumphing in the British Grand Prix with Hamilton earning the win fairly.

It appears that the W15 excels in cooler climates such as those in Canada and Britain, but faces challenges in warmer conditions.

Russell thinks that Mercedes must continue improving if they want to compete with Norris and Verstappen at the Hungaroring.

"We certainly completed more laps compared to others during the extended period of FP1 and FP2," he stated. "McLaren appears to be very fast, and Lando is performing exceptionally well right now. I don't believe Max is trailing by much. There seems to be a power discrepancy between McLaren and Red Bull during qualifying laps."

"After the race, it was observed that Lando and Max were leading. In the warm climates of Austria and Barcelona, we lagged behind those two drivers, but in the cooler weather, we managed to get ahead. This is an area we need to focus on improving."

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