Almost eight tenths behind Mercedes in Friday practice for the 2022 French Grand Prix in Le Castellet: After the start of the penultimate race weekend before the summer break, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell make no secret of the fact that the Silver Arrows camp had hoped for a little more.
Hamilton, for example, says: “The car is not spectacular here and we don’t know why that is.” Russell also feels that the Mercedes-Speed is “quite weak” compared to the competition. Because Mercedes is not on par with Ferrari and Red Bull in France, although the W13 is used on the Circuit Paul Ricard with numerous updates.
How well did these new parts fare? Russell doesn’t want to commit himself. We are basically satisfied with the development steps, [aber] “We still have to take a detailed look at the data,” says the Briton.
The problem is that because almost all teams in Le Castellet use updates, it is “sometimes not so easy to see on the time monitor” who has actually made progress.
On paper, Mercedes is the third force
On paper, however, Mercedes is the third force behind Ferrari and Red Bull in France. Russell classified himself in P4 with a time of 1:33.291 minutes, exactly 0.764 seconds behind the leaders. A further 0.226 seconds behind was Hamilton in the W13 sister car in P5.
“This is the region in which we are staying,” says Hamilton. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t finish in the top three. We could do that, I think. We’re just not as fast as we are [Ferrari und Red Bull] and are a little further back than in the last race.”
But why is that? Hamilton explains that Mercedes is “simply missing everywhere” in Le Castellet, “in every corner”, according to the seven-time world champion. “I would have to look at the data very closely, but it feels like we just lack downforce. Otherwise it was okay. Average, I would say.”
“But yes, we have work to do. We’re a little further behind than we thought this weekend.”
Russell: It looks better over the distance
Russell thinks Mercedes are better positioned over the distance: “I guess our speed with a lot of fuel on board was a bit better than our speed over a fast lap. So we have to make sure that we get qualifying on point so that no midfield cars between us and the top 4. Then we’ll see for Sunday.”
However, Mercedes will probably not be fighting for victory in Le Castellet. “Perhaps ‘Outsider Chance’ sums it up pretty well,” says Russell. “We are a little further away from the pace than we had hoped. That means working overnight on the track and at home in the factory. But never say never.”
Tire wear homework for Hamilton and Russell
Above all, Mercedes must once again deal intensively with tire wear. According to their own statements, both regular drivers did not manage to do long runs that were too extensive. Hamilton speaks of “only three or four laps” in a row, Russell of “only about five laps” that he completed as a long run.
And at least at Russell, there is said to have been a “small problem” in the Mercedes box, but Russell does not go into detail at this point. When it comes to tires, he only says: “It seems as if some teams had bigger problems. It seemed okay with us.”
Hamilton has found at least a “rather high level of wear”. “But it’s also very hot. The track was 55 degrees warm,” said the ex-champion.
In Friday’s training, almost 60 degrees Celsius were even measured once. “That makes it hard for the tires,” explains Hamilton. And: “I would be surprised if you got through with a stop, but I could be wrong.”
Hamilton misses the first free practice session
He himself had skipped the first free practice session in France to give Mercedes test driver Nyck de Vries some Formula 1 practice. He therefore had to catch up in the second unit, says Hamilton. “It was kind of crazy because I hadn’t moved the car until then. But I think I got through it well.”
Russell, on the other hand, states that he is quite served after two 60-minute sessions on the Circuit Paul Ricard in midsummer: “I need a nice cold shower now.” Then he wanted to throw himself into the aftermath together with Hamilton and the engineers.
“Hopefully we can make some progress overnight,” says Hamilton. Because Russell says: “We still have to look at a lot.”