As the Hungarian GP approaches, Mercedes F1’s confidence wavers, with engineer Shovlin expressing notable apprehension about the team’s prospects.
Mercedes F1 won the last two Grands Prix, in Austria following a crash between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen… and in the UK, this time fair and square.
Never two without three, this weekend in Hungary? Nothing is less certain, however.
Because at the Hungaroring, track conditions are expected to be very different: it will be very hot, whereas it was rather humid and cold at Silverstone… Additionally, the track characteristics are quite dissimilar (high-speed corners at Silverstone, slower corners at the Hungaroring).
This is why Andrew Shovlin, chief race engineer at Mercedes, feels “nervous” before the upcoming Grand Prix.
“We certainly do not think that because we won the last Grand Prix, we will win the next one.”
“This makes us a bit more nervous, as it will be very difficult to maintain the performance we had at Silverstone.”
“The big test for Hungary is whether we have fixed our long-run performance issues in hot conditions, because in Barcelona and Austria, we couldn’t compete with Lando or Max on long runs, those two cars were well ahead of us.”
“I hope we have made some progress, but looking at the gap in those two races, I would be surprised if we could reduce it significantly.”
“But we surprised ourselves with the first stint at Silverstone, we did not think that in the dry part of the race, we would be able to break away… We thought it would be like in Barcelona where George took the lead and then had two drivers (Lando Norris and Max Verstappen) in his gearbox.”
“But the Hungaroring presents different challenges, we can simulate these problems, we know what kinds of issues it will pose – and we will strive to prepare and ensure we start with the best possible settings.”
Mercedes F1 had not particularly shone in Monaco this year either. Yet, it is said that the Hungaroring is a Monaco without the walls… which Shovlin disputes.
“It’s totally different from Monaco, and even the mere fact that the tarmac is different from Monaco gives it different characteristics.”
“There are unique turns, low-speed corners, but also fast corners. Turn four and turn five are very fast, and it’s a real circuit, the Hungaroring, with short straights.”
“In the last three corners, you can gain a lot of time. If the car is stable, with this dream combination of stability, but also turns well when you want it to, that makes a difference. If the car is poorly balanced, with the rear moving and a lot of understeer at the apex, you lose a tremendous amount of time.”
“These corners… there’s absolutely nothing in Monaco that resembles them, but the Hungaroring is a good circuit where there are a lot of connected turns. And in these corners, if the car works well and is balanced, you can save a lot of time.”
“It’s a circuit where getting into the last sector with your tires in a decent temperature window is quite key.”
But the Hungaroring has, at least, one thing in common with Silverstone for Lewis Hamilton: he loves both tracks…
“It’s like Silverstone, Lewis has a quite impressive record of victories there.”
“It would therefore be wrong not to credit the driver for part of his performance on this circuit,” concludes Shovlin.
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Hungary GP: Shovlin’s Nerves Signal Mercedes Woes Hungary GP: Shovlin’s Nerves Signal Mercedes Woes
