The reigning constructors’ champions are off to a winless start in Formula 1 for the first time since 2011, as the team struggles to adapt to new ground-effect car regulations.
But Mercedes has made real progress in the last few races before the summer break, with the team taking podiums in France and Hungary, with Hamilton currently in Belgium this weekend Five consecutive podium finishes before the Grand Prix.
Asked if he felt Mercedes was now closer to winning the road at Spa on Thursday, Hamilton believed, but cautiously, the team’s efforts to end its barren run It will “continue to be tough”.
“Of course I would,” Hamilton said. “I think of course we’ve been improving, we’ve had that consistency in recent races, the team is making huge progress, everyone is pulling together and continuing to push.
” And this car The car is more and more like a racing car, it is not what it was at the beginning of the year, it is more like an ordinary racing car.
“The final game was our best performance to date and it was a huge boost for us to close the gap.
” Of course, It will continue to be tough and we will keep our heads down. Others have done a great job, but I believe we can close the gap. “
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
Photo: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Hamilton is currently on his longest streak of 14 consecutive races without a podium in F1.
Previously, his longest drought ended in nine consecutive races in 2009 and 2013, both of which ended at the Hungarian Grand Prix
Mercedes-Benz Circuit Head of engineering Andrew Shovlin told Motorsport.com in the summer that the team had definitely taken a “shock” in the fight with the new car, but it felt like it would work and it wouldn’t do any harm in the future as it would get back to the front of the grid.
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell shares his thoughts on 2022 cars close to being a winner, while adding that Messi The way Des has bounced back this season has been “inspiring”.
“I definitely have that confidence,” Russell said when asked about Hamilton’s comments.
“I think it’s based on the fact that we’ve made tremendous progress. I think we’ve also brought more performance to the car in the upcoming races, which is really exciting, and I think we’ve learned a lot in the last few races before the summer break.
” So, it was really inspiring to see how the team came together in a tough time at the beginning of the year and how we closed the gap.
” I think There is more to come and we will give everything. “
