Mercedes Executive reveals they had lost the battle against Max Verstappen even before starting the Hungarian GP despite Lewis Hamilton’s pole
Andrew Shovlin claims Mercedes never believed they had the pace to beat Max Verstappen.
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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (Credits: SBNation and The Independent)
The Formula 1 community was over the moon when the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton secured the pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was his first pole since 2021, and he extended the tally to 104. However, Andrew Shovlin, the trackside engineer at Mercedes AMG Petronas, revealed that the team did not have the pace to battle the Red Bull defending champion Max Verstappen despite Hamilton’s record-breaking pole position.
The last time the Briton started on pole was at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he stunned everyone with his lap on Saturday. Hence, it was a good boost for the team as Lewis Hamilton ended his pole position drought. However, things did not go as expected on race day. The Mercedes driver dropped to fourth place as Verstappen breezed past him, and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri overtook him.
Lewis Hamilton struggled to keep his W14 close to the top three, but in the end, he began hunting Sergio Perez, aiming for a podium finish. The 38-year-old finished fourth with a solid result considering his struggle throughout the race. Andrew Shovlin stated that Mercedes never had the pace to fight Verstappen. He told the media, “We never believed we had the pace to beat Verstappen, but we could have been second had more gone our way.” Verstappen and Red Bull are in a different league and unbeatable at the moment, but the team hopes to catch McLaren.
Andrew Shovlin says the opening lap wasn’t great for Lewis Hamilton
Andrew Shovlin added, “Starting from P1 and not even making the podium is always going to be disappointing. The opening lap wasn’t great for Lewis, dropping to fourth, but as the race went on our pace seemed to get better. At one point it looked like we’d be a distant fourth, but, he did a good job closing Perez and Norris down in the final stint.” However, he claimed it was frustrating for the team as they couldn’t get the other drivers sooner.
Mercedes will now focus on the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix, the last race before the summer break. They aim to close the gap to the Milton Keynes outfit and get back to being in front of the upgraded McLaren. With only one practice session, the team would have to get their setup right for the qualifying.
Mercedes are known for turning things around during practice sessions. However, they might not get that luxury at the Belgian GP as it is a Sprint weekend. The team needs to find momentum if they want to take up the fight against the mighty Red Bull. They also have another competitor now, their customer team McLaren. It remains to be seen what action Mercedes would take to get back on top.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)