Mercedes had a troubling start of the year as they struggled with the porpoising issues of the newly designed ground-effect W13. The two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, only secured three podiums in the first seven races in 2022. However, there has been a change of fortune for the Silver Arrows in recent time, with four consecutive podiums in the last four races.
The recent performances have triggered hopes of a race win in the Mercedes garage as F1 heads to France for the 12th GP of 2022. The Silver Arrows recently confirmed that the two Mercedes drivers would receive new developments to their W13s at the French Grand Prix. While Mercedes have been competitive, they have lacked the pace to fight for a race win. The closest Mercedes came to a race win was in Silverstone. There, Hamilton showed some fierce racing at home before a late safety car ended his hopes of a win.
On their last outing in Austria, the German team was surprisingly fast during qualifying. However, both Hamilton and Russell crashed during Q3. Although the two drivers made a great comeback during the main race to finish third and fourth. Thus, it looks like Mercedes is finally preparing themselves for a race win at the Paul Ricard circuit. It would be thrilling to see the eight-time constructors\’ champions getting back to winning ways after a rough first half of the season.
Wolff Talks About Mercedes\’ Progress in Race-Preview Video
During the pre-race video, the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the third and fourth place was satisfying for the whole team in Austria after crashing on Friday. He praised the team engineers who worked through the night to complete two race cars. The Mercedes boss felt that 27 points on Sunday were a good reward for the crucial efforts made by the team.
Moreover, Wolff was also pleased with the shift of momentum with four podiums in the last four races. He felt that their recent success reflected the mammoth effort put in by the team to make things work. Toto shared that the team\’s understanding of the car grows with each lap. He was happy that their progress had been reflected in their developments and results.
Wolff further admitted that Mercedes was not quick enough to challenge for a race win. His team needs to keep chasing the final few tenths and bring new upgrades, including the French weekend. Wolff mentioned that Paul Ricard is on a completely different track with new sets of challenges. The track has smooth tarmac and a wide array of corner types along with long straights. Wolff concluded, \”The aim will be to make further inroads on the gap to the front. And hopefully be back on the podium.\”
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton will make way for Mercedes\’ Formula E driver Nyck de Vries. The rookie driver will replace Hamilton during Friday\’s practice and drive the W13 in the two sessions.