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toto wolff preview of grand britain GP

Mercedes wants revenge: 'We had a tap on the chin'

4 July 2023 at 14:50
Last update 4 July 2023 at 21:33
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

It's a cliché in sports: after a lost race, the chance for revenge always comes. After the bad weekend in Austria, it undoubtedly feels that way for Mercedes, as Silverstone is the ideal place to celebrate success on Sunday, and for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the British Grand Prix is their home race. "The Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the season," said team boss Toto Wolff.

Looking back on what happened to his team at the Red Bull Ring, Wolff believes: "We scored a handful of points, but we didn't have the pace for much more. The field behind Red Bull is incredibly close and also fluctuates each weekend. Some of this is circuit-specific, and some is the upgrade cycle across the grid. We fell on the wrong side of this equation in Spielberg, but we've got a chance to bounce back immediately."


Wolff does not want to get ahead of himself

According to the Austrian, Mercedes thoroughly analysed the weekend in Austria and learned lessons from it. "We have taken the result on the chin and will aim to recapture the momentum we had built up across previous races. With the next upgrades and experiments coming in Silverstone, there are reasons for optimism. Nevertheless, we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We're focused on the job at hand, extracting performance from the car, and will see where we stand this weekend.."

With hundreds of thousands of Britons in the stands, support for Mercedes will be strong. "The British Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the season. The atmosphere at Silverstone is unique, and the support from the fans is truly incredible. It's also our local race, with the track just down the road from the factories in Brackley and Brixworth. It's a fast and flowing layout which creates great racing, so, hopefully, we can perform well and put on a good show," Wolff said.