Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is gearing up to win the Austrian Grand Prix next weekend. The team has been working on the W14 car, and it is showing positive growth. Sadly, the seven-time champion has been winless since last year. Apparently, the last victory for Hamilton came in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix of 2021, where he lost the race along with the championship title to Max Verstappen. That led to the start of the new domination of the team Red Bull and the driver from Holland, Verstappen.
As things stand, the table toppers are planning to do the same thing again. Team Red Bull has won all the races so far this season, in which Max Verstappen has won six and Sergio Perez won a couple. Now F1 is heading to Austria at the Red Bull ring, and the Milton Keynes team is ready to dominate at home as well. Moreover, the Austrian Grand Prix is going to be the second sprint race of the season. And Max Verstappen is not terribly fond of the format. Hence, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have a good chance to get back on the winning ways. And while leading to Red Bull’s home race, the Mercedes driver has expressed his concern about what happened there last year.
Lewis Hamilton Urges Fans Not To Repeat Such Misbehavior Like Last Time In Austrian GP
Reportedly, the race in Spielberg last season saw inappropriate touching of female fans along with racist and homophobic abuses. Hence, the seven-time champion urges the fans who will come to the race next weekend not to repeat the last year’s evils and maintain the decorum of the sport. Due to Max Verstappen’s dominance, there will be mostly Dutch fans present next weekend. Last year as well, the Dutch fans dominated the seat numbers. And apparently, the abuses happened in those stands last year.
Later, Formula One launched a Drive It Out campaign to reduce such occurrences among fans and drivers. Although Lewis Hamilton mentioned that he was not aware of the measures F1 took, he still thinks there is more work needed to stop such wrongdoing. According to him, it is upsetting to hear such a thing happening in a beautiful place like in Austria. Lewis has crossed his finger, expecting it won’t happen next weekend. On the other hand, Max Verstappen also stated a caution warning for his fans, “Don’t get too drunk. Just enjoy the race.”
Red Bull Is A Little Bit Wary Of New Mercedes Upgrades
It is clear that Red Bull is not looking to give up their winning streak at home next weekend. But rivals Mercedes will bring new upgrades, and boss Toto Wolff is positive about getting a better result next weekend. Moreover, it is not only homecoming for the Austrian team but also for their rival team’s boss. Hence, it will be exciting to see if Mercedes can break the Red Bull’s winning streak at the Red Bull ring.
Moreover, Mercedes has gotten better results with the Monaco upgrades. They introduced new side pods plus the front and floor suspensions in Monte Carlo. Hence, in Spain, the team secured their first double podium this year. Lewis Hamilton came second, and George Russell finished at P3 in Barcelona. Next, Hamilton got his third podium this year in the next Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada. Hence, the Mercedes team is on the right track with their improvements on the W14 car.
