Mercedes has been the unluckiest team whose success has been affected by the change of regulations this season. The Silver Arrows clinched eight consecutive championships since 2014. However, the German racing team has been forced to take a back seat and watch Red Bull and Ferrari fight for the championship at the front. While Mercedes have progressed over the course of the season, they still lack the race-winning pace.
The Silver Arrows countered porpoising and found some much-needed performance. With that, Lewis Hamilton clinched four straight podiums in Canada, Silverstone, Austria, and Paul Ricard. Mercedes\’ best performance came recently in France as Lewis Hamilton and George Rusell finished second and third in France behind Red bull\’s max Verstappen. However, the team\’s determination and their will to keep fighting have shown why they are one of the toughest teams in F1.
Further, the Silver Arrows still lack the performance to create pressure on the front-running outfits. However, their biggest strength this season has been the W13\’s reliability. Both Red Bull and Ferrari have struggled with the mechanical issues, costing them some crucial championship points. As a result, Mercedes are just 44 points behind Scuderia in the constructor\’s championship after a series of retirements and river errors from the Italian team.
Meanwhile, Hamilton and Russell have not suffered a single retirement due to mechanical issues. George has finished consistently in the top five in all races except for early retirement in Silverstone after a collision with Alfa Romeo\’s Zhou Guanyu. The only errors made by the two Mercedes drivers came during Q3 in Austria when both crashed. However, the Silver Arrows are trying more than ever to push for their first win of the season.
Toto Wolff Reveals Mercedes\’ Greatest Strength In 2022:
Recently, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealed that the team\’s culture is the greatest force behind their push for a win. Talking to Mototrsports365.com, the former Austrian driver told that the biggest asset is the team\’s culture. Toto Wolff felt that the culture is Mercedes\’ immune system which keeps them going forward with the right mindset and spirit during difficult times. He added that Hamilton and Russell were a part of their culture and mindset. They have rarely made any mistakes this season and squeezed the most out of the troubled W13. Toto shared, \”They\’re clever, we\’ve seen that in France and just never let go.\”
Toto Wolff further pointed out that their strong reliability has been the highlight of the season. He felt that his team needed to find a way to unlock performance in qualifying and the initial stages of the race. Moreover, Mercedes qualified nine-tenths of a second behind the pole position time of Charles Leclerc. Wolff mentioned the Silver Arrows are collecting data from each lap to understand their car better and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Toto concluded, \”There are no holy cows that we\’re not looking at. But, we\’re just not yet clear what it is that holds us back.\”