Mercedes finished the Formula 1 training session in Great Britain on Friday in sixth and tenth place. This was discouraging for the Silver Arrows, who had regularly been at least third in the rankings in recent weeks. However, this is unlikely to reflect the true balance of power. Engine performance not yet approved, and the Pirelli tires were not in the right window.
Lewis Hamilton: Still a little behind the leaders
It is a home race for both Mercedes drivers. Lewis Hamilton has won eight times at Silverstone. George Russell is at least coming back from Austria with a race win under his belt. However, there was little sign of last week’s euphoria in FP2.
“The car felt generally good today. We’re still a little behind the pace of the frontrunners, but today was encouraging,” Lewis Hamilton insists, nevertheless feeling positive. “I don’t think the times were entirely representative of our speed.”
This is also reflected in the engine performance. Especially in comparison with Nico Hülkenberg, it is noticeable how far behind the Mercedes is on the straights. The W15 probably still has some reserves up its sleeve.
“We know we still have some work to do tonight, so we will do everything we can to find more performance and hope that brings us a little closer to the top,” said Lewis Hamilton.
George Russell: Tires a big part of the time loss
Russell seemed to have a slightly harder time than Hamilton in the second practice session. He was just over a tenth of a second behind his teammate. “FP2 was a difficult affair and we need to find out why that was the case. It was windier and I don’t think we got the tyres into the window, which could explain a lot of that,” said Russell.
Mercedes is therefore planning to do setup work overnight. But even that could go wrong. The conditions for tomorrow’s qualifying are far from clear. There is still a risk of rain for the time trial.
“Conditions are likely to change over the weekend and there could be more rain, so we’ll have to be prepared for that,” explains Russell.