Mercedes had an uncanny start to the 2022 championship as they struggled to compete at the front despite being the constructors\’ championship for the last eight seasons. The new regulations ahead of the season hit the Silver Arrows hard as they were forced to work with their troubled W13 car. Meanwhile, Red Bull and Ferrari took an early lead in the championship and are the only teams in contention for the title this year.
Mercedes have made crucial efforts to get their car right and have progressed impressively over the course of the season. However, they have failed to win a single race this season. It appears that Mercedes will have to make a lot more effort in order to find the performance required to get ahead of the two front-running outfits.
Lewis is slowly coming into the groove with four podiums in the last four races. He also managed to secure the season-best P2 finish for Mercedes last weekend in Paul Ricard. However, despite Mercedes\’ progress, they are still almost a second behind the frontrunners in qualifying. While they have been better in the race, they had to rely on errors and retirements from Red Bull and Ferrari to finish on the podium.
Talking to Sky Sports, Hamilton stated that Mercedes could not claim to have turned a corner. The Briton said his team\’s slow progress felt like they had been on the corner for ages. Moreover, the Mercedes driver shared that Silverstone was a great outing for the team. He also pointed out that Mercedes\’ greatest strength had been their reliability so far, with Red Bull and Ferrari facing retirements on several occasions due to mechanical issues.
Lewis Hamilton Reckons Mercedes Have To Rely On Red Bull & Ferrari Unreliability For Results
Lewis stated that in the last few races, it seemed like Mercedes had taken a step back, or the frontrunners had moved forward yet again. And the Silver Arrows were almost a second behind over a single lap. Although his team\’s race pace has been a little better in comparison with qualifying. He pointed out that their reliability has also been exceptional. The 37-year-old added, \”We\’ve also relied a lot on the others not finishing and I think that overshadows the fact thet we have a lot of work to do.\”
The Briton further reckoned that Mercedes were making progress with their upgrades ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis told that he was enjoying the challenge. He was in a much better place in terms of the car\’s balance and the setup. The seven-time world champ concluded, \”Bono and the rest of the guys are definitely a little bit happier working with the car.\”