Mercedes arrives in Budapest on the wings of enthusiasm after the two recent victories in Austria and Great Britain. Though some could claim that Mercedes were lucky at Spielberg, nothing was fortunate about their performance and result in Silverstone. The Hungaroring is another of Hamilton’s favourite tracks, having already claimed victory at the Hungarian GP on eight occasions. In 2023, he conquered the most recent pole position of his career. Russell also has sweet memories of this event, given that in 2022, claiming his first F1 pole position at this track.
WOLFF: “WE KNOW WE DON’T YET HAVE A CAR THAT CAN ALWAYS FIGHT FOR VICTORY”
The two recent victories are not seen as the culmination of the W15’s development journey but as two results to draw enthusiasm to continue improving the car. Some new features are also expected on the Mercedes single-seater this weekend, and team principal Toto Wolff explained:
“We approach the next two Grand Prix with momentum. We have continued to make progress with the W15 in recent races, and this has led to prestigious results in Austria and Silverstone.
However, we know that we do not yet have a car capable of fighting for victory every weekend. The team is working hard to make further performance improvements, which we hope will allow us to do so. These efforts will continue in the next two races and until the end of the World Championship.”
At Silverstone, on a track featuring many high-speed corners, Mercedes could fight on equal terms with Red Bull and McLaren. The Hungaroring has the opposite characteristics – therefore representing a test for the W15 in low-speed sections.
“The Hungaroring has a lot of tight and twisty sections, with only one significant straight, ” Wolff underlined.
“However, it also contains some high-speed corners and will therefore be another good test of the improvements we have made in the cornering speed range.
“We approach the weekend focused on doing the best job possible. Hopefully, we can maintain this positive trajectory and finish the first half of the season in the best possible way.”
