British Grand Prix: Mercedes in a promising position
After a Friday that was far from brilliant, Mercedes woke up to come up to Q3 on Saturday. The two British drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, will start from 6th and 7th places on the grid.
Within one tenth…
If Toto Wolff’s team is still relegated to over four tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen, the gap is then smaller between the other nine cars in Q3. Frustrated to only have inherited 6th and 7th positions, the German director remains optimistic for the race.
« Between P2 and P6, there are two tenths. There is no excuse, it’s so tiny. But in the end, it’s these positions that count. We were more competitive in qualifying in terms of lap times than we expected. The question is how much pace difference do we need to have to overtake tomorrow. There are a few cars ahead of us, » said the Mercedes team boss to Sky Sports.
Podium objective for George Russell
The young driver is racing at home this Sunday and hopes to fight for a podium in front of his home crowd.
« After FP2, we were 17th and 18th in qualifying and 3rd and 4th in the race. The only thing that differed between the two was the tires. We made very good improvements overnight, » he declared in the margins of the qualifications. « I am frustrated to see that we are only half a tenth away from third place, which would have been an incredible result, but I am satisfied with my lap. Lewis pushed me hard throughout the weekend and he stayed calm. Everything came together in the last lap and there is no reason why we cannot fight for P2 and P3, » the British driver continued.
Ferrari and McLaren in the crosshairs
George Russell believes he has a slight advantage over the Scuderia and counts on these few hundredths to overtake Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who will start from the 4th and 5th position respectively.
« I feel positive, motivated, but there are a few unknowns. I think we know roughly where Ferrari will be. I believe we probably have a one or two-tenths advantage over them, but the question is whether it’s enough to physically overtake them on the track rather than during pit stops. »
Surprised by McLaren’s comeback, he also expects a good fight with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
« I was exceptionally surprised by the McLarens. They did an incredible job. I’m not exactly sure where all this performance is coming from, but last weekend, their race pace was fast already. We often see teams being fast on Saturdays and then falling back on Sundays, but I have a feeling that might not necessarily be the case for McLaren. So, we have a battle to fight. »
