The Formula One World Series will be contested this weekend at Mercedes’ home track in Silverstone, Great Britain. Mercedes will now have the right place to strike, believes Urheilu’s expert Jukka Mildh.
The early season of Mercedes has remained silent in the Formula One World Series, as the season has passed under the command of Red Bull drivers. Max Verstappen is in the overwhelming MM lead before his teammate Sergio Perez.
Mercedes’ British duo George Russell is fourth in the World Cup situation and Lewis Hamilton sixth as the season nears the halfway mark.
Sports expert Jukka Mildh can see that the biggest stumbling block of the British stable has become the difficult handling of the car. Hamilton has suffered from this even more than Russell.
– Mercedes has had to develop its car at a fast pace, while Red Bull and Ferrari’s cars have worked well, respectively. Red Bull and Ferrari have moved forward in terms of engines compared to Mercedes, Mildh estimates.
Mildh admits to being surprised by the situation.
– Mercedes’ mistakes in the design of the car are surprising, because the rules for this season were already known a long time ago, Mildh reminds.
Mercedes’ decline is steep if we take last season as a comparison. Lewis Hamilton was second in the final points of the World Series and Valtteri Bottas placed third. Red Bull’s Verstappen took the championship.
Even though his greatest success has come at a loss, Russell has been consistent in his battles this season.
– I have to remember that Russell has finished in the top five in every race this year. But there are still things in the Mercedes car that complicate the situation.
– Emphasis can be placed on the car’s drivability, features, engines or technology in different ways. Merdedes has not succeeded nearly as well as, for example, Red Bull, Mildh compares.
Salvation from rule changes?
The Azerbaijan GP in Baku was especially difficult for Mercedes and Hamilton.
– Hamilton has made a big deal about the car bouncing in Baku, which strained the driver’s back and also caused safety risks, Mildh commented.
In the world of formulas, the means are known to be unenviable if the results fall short of the desired results.
– Mercedes has tried to influence the rules of the series so that the ride height of the car could be raised so that such problems would not occur. It’s already a sign of desperation, but all the rules have to be tried, Mildh sees.
– Time is ticking fast now that almost half of the season’s races have been run. Something should be done already, Mildh sees.
Russell is ahead of Hamilton in the World Cup situation, but according to Mildh, times have changed since Valtteri Bottas drove as Hamilton’s teammate.
– Hamilton is of course the most successful driver in the F1 series, but now he has got a good teammate (Russell). The spirit of the team is different compared to Bottas’ time, Mildh points out.
– Russell is still a newcomer, but he did a great job. He has entered the team well and currently knows how to adjust the car for himself better than Hamilton.
Place of impact on the home track
The Mercedes team will get the right opportunity this weekend, when the World Championship points will be fought for at the team’s home track in Silverstone, Great Britain.
– Silverstone is a legendary race. After the bouncy street tracks, you get to drive on a flat track compared to, for example, Baku. Silverstone track is very fast, it should suit Mercedes. I think this could be a positive weekend for them, although the opponents are of course tough.
– Mercedes drivers now get a lot of attention, although of course Hamilton gets attention elsewhere, Mildh commented.
Qualifying for the Formula 1 British race on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The tenth race of the season will be held on Sunday at 5 p.m.