Mercedes had a terrible start to the 2022 season as they were way off the pace compared to frontrunners Red Bull and Ferrari. The Silver Arrows’ W13 was plagued by porpoising issues resulting in the lack of pace. Lewis Hamilton struggled to even finish in the top five with increasing pressure from his rookie teammate. Russell has finished ten times in the top five in 11 races so far.
However, things looked to be turning around in Mercedes’ favor in some of the previous races. Hamilton finished fifth after falling at the back of the grid after a first-lap puncture in Barcelona. The Briton showed some competitive pace, which resurrected hopes of doing something meaningful and eventually winning a race as the season progressed.
However, the bouncing issues worsened during the next three races in Monaco, Baku, and Canada. Eventually, the Silver Arrows got over the porpoising issues. Hamilton also found his groove to secure three back-to-back podiums in Canada, Silverstone, and Austria. The recent performance from the seven-time world champion has renewed hopes of a GP win this season. The Briton feels that more digging could help the team close the gap even more to the front. Hamilton shared that his recent performance has been highly encouraging after not being able to improve the car for a long despite the changes. He felt that the progress in Barcelona was a good step before having three difficult outings after it.
The Briton further shared that the last three races have been quite strong. Thus, Lewis and his team are highly encouraged about moving in the right direction and finding more potential in the car. Hamilton mentioned that he truly believes Mercedes could win a race this year. “With a little bit more digging, a little bit more hard work. Hopefully, we can get a bit closer to having a chance of winning the race,” the 37-year-old added.
Toto Wolff Agrees With Hamilton’s Hopes Of A Race Win In 2022
After a series of brilliant performances from Hamilton, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was optimistic that his team could finally win a race during the second half of the year. The Silver Arrows have countered the porpoising concerns and are now working to match the pace of the frontrunners. Wolff said Mercedes had the fastest car in Silverstone and were pretty competitive in Barcelona too. Further, they were surprisingly good in Austria during qualifying before both Hamilton and Russell crashed in Q3.
The former Austrian driver felt that Mercedes was stuck in no man’s land during the sprint and the race. However, Wolff was pleased by the competitive lap times from the two drivers. Hence, Mercedes could have a chance of winning their first race of the season soon. He added, “So the truth is that I think yes is the answer. We are putting things together slowly but surely, and that would be the target.”