Even before the appointment with the British Grand Prix, the podiums won by Mercedes this season they were, by the team principal’s own admission Toto Wolff, the direct consequence of the problems accused by Ferrari or Red Bull. Retirements and mechanical problems that have therefore opened the doors of the podium to the reigning world champion team, never seriously entered the battle to at least get the lowest step of the podium also due to the limits suffered by the porpoising effect. At Silverstone, however, the story was completely different for the Anglo-German team, even a candidate for victory with Lewis Hamilton.
Also on this occasion, the seven-time world champion received the assist of the damage to the fund suffered by Max Verstappen, but he nevertheless battled openly with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz first to aim for first place and, subsequently, to earn a place on the podium. Could the tenth round of the world championship therefore have opened a new cycle for the Mercedes W13? For Wolff himself, interviewed by Sky Sport F1 at the end of the race, the time is not yet right.
For the Austrian manager, there are still a few steps to take before being able to experience a ‘love story’ with the car: “It hasn’t started yet – explained Wolff – let’s say that, for the first time, we started ‘flirting’ with the car. In the meantime, we want to target some stage wins. It would be fantastic to start fighting with Ferrari and Red Bull, also because it would mean that this is a car that can have its say through development in 2023 ″.
In a British weekend that gave Hamilton the third podium of the season, Mercedes nevertheless had to face the retirement of George Russell, involved in the frightening incident that occurred at the start and forced not to take part in the second route for regulatory reasons. The Briton, who got off the car to race in the direction of Guanyu Zhou, was unable to return to the starting grid for two reasons, explained by Wolff: “The rule says that, once assisted by the marshals, you can no longer resume the race – he has declared – George still tried to get back to the pit lane, but he was not allowed ”.
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