LONDON.- Just when Lewis Hamilton decided he needed to change teams, Mercedes finally gave him a competitive car. The team managed to get into the closest fight in a Formula 1 season since the three-time reigning champion Max Verstappen snatched the title from the Englishman in 2021.
But the seven-time world champion and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell have won back-to-back races. Russell finished first in Austria before Hamilton surprised with a victory at Silverstone. The team heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix with renewed hope after a long period of doubt.
Hamilton’s victory at the British GP was his first since the penultimate race of 2021.
But the driver knows how to win on the tight corners of the Hungaroring. He has a record of eight wins on this track, his last in 2020. Last year he started from pole position.
“We will be fighting, chasing and trying to win as many races or compete for as many wins as possible,” Hamilton said during his preparation for the weekend.
The last seven races have had five different winners and it is no longer a given that Red Bull will sweep the most victories in a campaign.
Verstappen still holds a comfortable lead at the top on 255 points and McLaren’s Lando Norris is second on 171. But the Dutchman is now facing fast challengers from three different teams, including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Does not hide the change:
Verstappen acknowledged that the gap between his car and the other three teams has disappeared.
“We haven’t been the fastest car in the last few races, so I don’t expect that to change suddenly,” admitted the Dutchman, who has won there the last two years.
Red Bull is under more pressure in the constructors’ championship, which is counting the points of both its drivers. The team has 373 units, Ferrari 302, McLaren 295 and Mercedes 221.
This is largely due to the poor form of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Team boss Christian Horner acknowledged that his poor performances “are not sustainable” after the Aztec finished 17th in the British GP two weeks ago.
Norris has had a fast car in recent weeks and lamented not continuing his win streak after his victory in Miami in May.
“We continue to learn from these things. It’s better to do it later when we have more opportunities,” Norris said.
