According to Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes has found a sure direction with its new car, and according to him, they have already won victories this year. Meanwhile, in front of George Russell’s eyes, instead of Ferrari and Aston Martin, Red Bull hovers as a target.
After the second and third places in Barcelona, the enthusiasm does not diminish at Mercedes. They are unsure about the Canadian track, but both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are convinced that their good result in Spain was more than the fact that the track was right for them and that conditions played into their hands.
“Obviously we’re very optimistic, we’re improving and we were tingling in the last race.” Hamilton said in Montreal. “The whole factory, the whole team was full of new energy.”
“We feel like there’s a pole star ahead of us. We know where we have to go, and we know we’re going to get there. Everyone is bubbly and working hard.”
Russell confirmed that if they perform strongly again this weekend, they can cement their position as Red Bull’s number one chasers. “In Barcelona there are many fast and moderately fast corners, the track is even, we used the stiffest tyres. Here we go with the three softest tyres, there are only slow corners and uneven asphalt with a lot of wheel spin. On paper, that doesn’t really serve us well. If we are the second best team this weekend, it will be an amazing confidence boost for the team for the rest of the season.” Explain the one-time winner of the race.
Of course, they were far from triumphant even in Barcelona, but according to Hamilton, who has not won in a year and a half, everything is just a matter of comparison. He said of breaking his winless streak:
“I don’t feel like an extra burden. We had a tough time, but now we’re on the rise. And in the previous race, in some races, we felt like we won. It’s just a matter of perspective. Obviously we didn’t finish in first place, but we’ve had many wins with the steps we’ve taken.” Our last race as a team to get a double podium finish felt like a victory.”
“We’re simply focused. We know there’s a North Star ahead of us, and we know where we have to go. We don’t know everything about how to get there yet, but we know we’ll get there together if we keep our heads down and focus on the science. Our engineering team is fantastic. We have a great development team and I think we are the fastest developing team, probably better than any other team in the sport. So let’s draw out the flaws.” said the seven-time world champion.
Lewis Hamilton (Photo: XPB)As he looks up at the North Star, Russell turns his gaze to the blue cars in the midst of the battle with the green and red cars…
“I don’t really like Aston Martin and Ferrari. We are looking for Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Of course the podium was great, but Monday morning was history and we worked out how to bridge the gap.”
“We still lack half a second to catch up and overtake Red Bull. We still have a lot to improve. We have to consistently qualify ahead of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Alpine and improve our performance” Russell said.
And he admitted that during the Red Bull chase, they also have to make sure they hold their ground against the Ferraris and Astons, because they are not yet guaranteed second place in the power standings due to the uncertainty of one lap. “We need to change our approach and improve our performance. Our timing performance is not good enough. To finish regularly in front of them on the grid, we need to improve our performance on Saturday.” To be noticed.
