Mercedes were hoping to keep their pre-summer break momentum going into the Belgian GP. However, the Silver Arrows had another tough Friday. They struggled to solve the mystery behind being too far off from Red Bull and Ferrari. The German outfit would be hoping to turn things around on Saturday and show some pace that George Russell had during the qualifying in Budapest.
Mercedes came to Spa after the summer break, hoping to pressure the frontrunners for a race win. But, the team had another tough couple of sessions on Friday. Lewis Hamilton finished FP2 in sixth place, over 1.3 seconds behind the session\’s fastest lap by Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, his teammate George Russell was farther down in eighth place. Hamilton later talked about the struggles faced by his team during Friday\’s action. The Briton reckoned that the W13 was just not quick enough, and the team did not have any actual reason why.
Lewis felt that it might have been the tyres, their temperatures, or the wind level because the two drivers went out there and gave it all to find the pace. The Mercedes driver shared that the car did not feel disastrous on the track. But, it was a long way off in terms of pace. Lewis Hamilton pointed out that Fridays had been tough for the Silver Arrows this season. However, he is hoping that things could change a little bit on Saturday as the conditions are expected to remain cold and damp during the weekend.
Lewis Hamilton stated that Mercedes would work to analyze the data overnight and work hard to find some improvements in their W13. The car did not feel the same way as it did in Hungary during qualifying. The 37-year-old added, \”But Friday and Saturday, it feels kind of similar to this now. So that gives me hope that we can turn it around.
Russell Feels Right Tyre Temperature Could Unlock Chunks Of Performance For Mercedes
George Russell was not surprised by his tough run on Friday as he is used to it. Russell stated that there were no guarantees of finding a performance similar to the last race. However, he hoped that things would turn around for his team. Tyre temperature has been a big problem for Mercedes so far this season. They have struggled to get their tyres in the right temperature window to get the performance.
The former Williams driver suggested that his team could get better if they get their tyres in the right window, which they have struggled to do so far in this season. He felt the need to work on the temperature issue because of the difficult weather conditions in Spa. However, George was optimistic about finding great performance by getting the temperature window right. The Mercedes driver concluded, \”But for sure, the gap to Max and the Ferraris is pretty extravagant.\”