Mercedes explains Hamilton's French GP journey back to the podium
Mercedes explains Hamilton's French GP journey back to the podium
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has broken down the journey travelled by Lewis Hamilton in order to regain form at last weekend's French Grand Prix.
After gathering just seven points across two races in Monaco and Azerbaijan, Mercedes looked to have been in a prime position for a victory in France last weekend before strategy errors allowed Max Verstappen to capitalise and extend his F1 championship lead.
But this seemed unlikely for Hamilton at the beginning of the weekend as team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen were a league of their own in practice, the seven-time champion three-tenths down throughout.
On what was needed to give the British driver the opportunity to finish on the podium, Shovlin explained: "Predominantly, it was all in the set-up work.
"We were just trying to get him comfortable with the car. As you know he had a difficult Friday, so just trying to get him a balance that he was able to push, that he could feel confident in.
"Previously the issue was just the rear end was very weak and unsettling him and it was about getting that stability back so he was confident to push the car hard."
Red Bull has taken a step forward
Shovlin conceded Red Bull look to have taken a step forward but insisted that Mercedes have what it takes to beat them across the course of the season, despite the frailties the world champions have shown in recent times.
"They're very quick in a straight line, but I think the way we look at it is that this team, at its best, can beat Red Bull," Shovlin added.
"At the end of the day, we saw the opportunities we’ve missed….We know that it's going to be difficult, they are the favourites, they clearly have a good package, but if we perform at our best we can beat them and we can win the championship."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 rival makes stunning Hamilton 'best' claim despite poor form
- 1 hour ago
F1 star emerges as SHOCK target for Audi
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner BLAMED for Newey nightmare as ‘absolute b******s’ Red Bull claims slammed
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton F1 rival makes astonishing admission with Verstappen claim
- 3 hours ago
McLaren boss keen for stunning Alonso REUNION
- Today 10:57
Schumacher BLAMES Horner for Red Bull's Newey nightmare
- Today 09:58
Related news
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860