Mercedes have been struggling with their W13 car since the start of the season. The Silver Arrows have failed to win a single race in 2022. The German racing team has secured just five podiums for the team shared between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. The two drivers attained their second consecutive third and fourth finish in Canada as F1 moves to Silverstone for the tenth GP of the season. Mercedes would hope to get their first win of the season at Hamilton’s home circuit.
Recently, the team’s technical director Mike Elliot confirmed that the Silver Arrows have upgrades planned for the British Grand Prix in order to compete with the frontrunners. In a post-race debrief video. Elliot revealed that the team aims to push as hard as possible during the Silverstone weekend. Moreover, the F1 aerodynamicist shared that his team would bring new bits to the upcoming racing weekend. Mercedes will try to push their car forward and find some pace from the W13 and the package, along with the new bits of upgrades that they have planned.
Mike further admitted that his team was a little bit behind the frontrunners, Red Bull and Ferrari. Therefore, the 48-year-old thought that it would be tough to beat them in a normal race. Elliot also hoped that the massive support from the home crowd to Hamilton and Russell on a more conventional circuit in Silverstone. The Silver Arrows have struggled across the slow corners of the last three street circuits in Monaco, Baku, and Montreal. However, the Silverstone circuit will pose another challenge for Mercedes with its four long straights and faster corners, which suit the team’s W13.
Alpine Boss Sends Protest Threats To Mercedes
Elliot further revealed that Silverstone would suit Mercedes as Barcelona did. However, the Briton felt that it might be a little tougher than Spain. However, Mike assured that his team and the drivers would push as hard as they could, aiming to get back to winning ways. In addition, Elliot said, “We want to win for the team. We definitely want to win and we want to win for you, the fans. So let’s see what happens.”
However, the rival teams have been against Mercedes. They introduced a floor stay during Friday Practice in Canada after the FIA introduced a technical directive on Thursday. The German racing team claimed to have developed the stay overnight. But rival team bosses felt that Mercedes might have been pre-informed about the regulation change by someone in the FIA.
Recently, the Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer warned Hamilton that his team would protest a separate move to upgrade his Mercedes car. The FIA suggested the usage of a floor stay to reduce the porpoising and limit the amount of bouncing that would be accepted from teams during the race. However, the floor stay did not work for Mercedes in Canada. Thus, Szafnauer suggested that other teams could protest against its use.
The Alpine boss told that Mercedes should not be running their stay in qualifying as they could become a subject of protest. Moreover, the Romanian national shared that the stay was against the current regulations, and Alpine definitely did not have one. He added, “And unfortunately, if you do have an extra stay, you can run the car lower, stiffer, and gain some advantage.”