SILVER LINING?
Wolff plays down home hopes
TOTO WOLFF has admitted Mercedes still have “a mountain to climb” as Silverstone braces itself for Lewis Hamilton fever.
The British Grand Prix has long been a sell-out – tickets went at a record rate this year – and a staggering crowd of approaching 400,000 is expected at the circuit over the weekend.
For the race itself, 142,000 will pack into the Northamptonshire venue and a huge majority will be cheering on Hamilton and his team-mate George Russell, right.
After Hamilton managed a podium finish in Montreal a fortnight ago, with Russell a place behind, there has been renewed optimism that Mercedes are getting
back on track after a dismal start to the 2022 season. Throw in Hamilton’s magnificent record around his home track – he has won eight times at Silverstone – and plenty of supporters are more than hopeful that the Briton can drive to his first victory of a troubled campaign.
The seven-time world champion also has last season’s epic win at the track – after a controversial coming together with Max Verstappen – relatively fresh in his memory.
On top of that, Wolff has been making encouraging noises about the progress of this season’s W13 car. But as the Formula One roadshow rolled into Silverstone, he was quick to try to lower the growing expectations.
The Mercedes team principal said: “While we can be pleased with the flashes of speed the W13 showed, there’s still a mountain to climb. A lot of work is needed to get to the front.”
While Mercedes are 116 points behind leaders Red Bull in the constructors’ standings, the gap to Ferrari is only
40. But Wolff insists Mercedes are still a distant third in the pecking order.
“We know the top two teams have a considerable advantage. Our challenge is to close that gap,” he said. “Silverstone has been good to us in the past, we have some improvements coming, and it’s a smoother track. We’re aiming to make another step forward and we have a clearer direction now.”
But 1996 world champion Damon Hill warned if they cannot make ground on their rivals this weekend, they can forget laying down a serious challenge this year..
“If the pace is not there at Silverstone, they have really got a problem,” he said.