Lewis Hamilton finished the sprint race in second place, George Russell recovered during the race, and Mercedes’ technical director is confident about their chances in the main race and aims for a double podium.
Highlights
‣ Lewis Hamilton finished the sprint race in second place.
‣ George Russell recovered during the sprint race, driving from P11 to P8.
‣ Mercedes’ technical director, Andrew Shovlin, stated that the team goes into the main race with a good feeling.
‣ Mercedes aims for a double podium in the main race.
In the sprint race leading up to the main event, Lewis Hamilton secured a strong second-place finish. Meanwhile, George Russell made an impressive recovery, climbing from P11 to P8 despite a three-place grid penalty. Andrew Shovlin, the technical director of Mercedes, expressed his confidence in the team’s performance heading into the main race.
Shovlin mentioned, “There’s lots of encouragement we can take away from today, even if we could have walked away with a few more points if everything had gone our way. Lewis had good pace in the Sprint Shootout. We were 0.139s off the pole on Friday but 0.069s [during the Sprint Shootout]. That’s a good sign that the update has moved us in the right direction.”
Looking ahead, Hamilton will start from P3, offering a promising opportunity for him to secure a podium finish. Shovlin acknowledged this, stating, “We’ve now got some good data to review overnight as part of our preparations for the race. The longer race opens up some strategy options, so hopefully, we’ll be able to make progress with both drivers. Max was able to keep us at arm’s length today, but it looked like we had the pace to challenge everyone else. Our stretch target for tomorrow, therefore, has to be a double podium.”
Mercedes remains confident about their performance in the upcoming race, fueled by the positive results achieved in the sprint race. They will analyze the gathered data overnight to optimize their strategy. With the goal of securing a double podium, the team is eager to capitalize on their strong pace and mount a challenge against their competitors.
In conclusion, Mercedes’ technical director, Andrew Shovlin, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance in the sprint race and remains optimistic about their chances in the main event. With the data acquired, the team is confident in their strategy options for the longer race and aims for a double podium finish. The stage is set for an exciting battle on the track, and it will be interesting to see how Mercedes performs in their pursuit of success.
