Hamilton and Russell happy with Mercedes step forward at Silverstone

Is Mercedes succeeded and finally came back into the match with Red Bull et Ferrari ? It is still too early to tell after only two free practice sessions at Silverstone. But the brand with the star still revealed the beginnings of the potential of the new improvements on the W13. Lewis Hamilton managed to achieve the second best time in FP1 and FP2.

So even if he doesn't want to ignite, the Briton still gives hope to the many fans present around the track. “ We still have work to do, but I feel like we've taken a step forward," explains the seven-time world champion. But even if the signs are encouraging, Mercedes has not yet completely closed in on the leading duo. “Our race pace is not yet as good as the others (Red Bull and Ferrari), but we are not miles off “, says Lewis Hamilton.

An analysis shared by Andrew Shovlin, the director of engineering at Mercedes who nevertheless notes improvements. “ Normally we see that kind of gap, half a second, maybe even seven, eight tenths with the fastest teams over a long run and that didn't seem to be the case », Explains the British engineer. But at Mercedes, we expect more from the two teams in the lead. “ It seems that we have taken a step forward, because normally we are not near the summit on Friday. Now I suspect there will be a bit more to come from Ferrari and a bit more to come from Red Bull. »

Still the porpoising phenomenon for Mercedes

George Russell is obviously a little less enthusiastic than his compatriot. During FP2, the Briton had to settle for 8th place. Even though he sees that progress has been made, the young driver still wants more. “ We were a lot faster than them at the end when we warmed up the tires. The Ferraris, in the end, were faced with tire degradation. We improved lap after lap. There are some positive signs here…but there’s definitely room for improvement, that’s for sure », says George Russell.

If Mercedes wants to continue to reduce the gap on Red Bull and Ferrari, this will perhaps involve reducing porpoising. At Silverstone, the W13 again experienced this phenomenon of bounces in certain parts of the route. “ The car bounces a bit, so we have to try to figure that out, but there's no porpoising on the straights, which is at least a positive sign “, explains George Russell. A feeling shared by Lewis Hamilton. “ I think the car is still bouncing a little. Not in a straight line, but in the turns and it's quite hard. Not physically hard, but it's in the car, on the tires and everything else. » There is still one free practice session left for Mercedes to make final adjustments before the first test during qualifying at 16:00 p.m.

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