Mercedes will prove old weakness fixed in Hungary - Toto Wolff

Mercedes

Mercedes will prove old weakness fixed in Hungary - Wolff

Can they bounce back in Budapest?

Matthew Scott

Thursday 1 August 2019 10:38

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to prove that the Silver Arrows have conquered a key weakness by bouncing back in style at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The champions are in need of a response, having taken just two points – awarded through post-race penalties – from their home race in Hockenheim, which saw the company's 125th anniversary of motorsport participation met with much pageantry and pomp.

Although Hamilton's six wins at the Hungaroring is a record, the shorter, twistier nature of the Budapest track has typically worked against Mercedes' design ethos.

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However, the W10 has proven itself to be quicker in the corners than most this year and Wolff is embracing the challenge.

"We had a painful Sunday in Hockenheim," he said. "We made mistakes, took the wrong decisions and left Germany with only two points. But we love Formula 1 for the challenges it throws at us as they present an opportunity to improve.

"On Sunday, we were united in our pain; on Monday, we were united in our determination to turn our weaknesses into strengths. We had a number of very open discussions about what went wrong and what steps we need to take to improve.

"I believe that one of the core strengths of our team is the way we handle defeat.

"We accept responsibility for mistakes so that we can learn and improve - and we will come back stronger from this. The positive is that the next race is only a few days away and that we have the chance to redeem ourselves in Budapest this weekend.

"In recent years, the Hungaroring has been a challenging circuit for us - but we managed to win there last year and there are a number of reasons to believe our car could be more competitive there this year than in recent seasons.

"Looking at our competition, Ferrari have been very strong on short circuits this year and we expect them to be competitive again in Budapest; Red Bull, too, have won two of the past three races with Max.

"But we haven't lost sight of the fact that we have come out on top in nine of the 11 races so far this year. And we are determined to fight tooth and nail this weekend to achieve another strong result."