Mercedes track engineer Andrew Shovlin has broken down Lewis Hamilton’s journey to get back in shape at the French Grand Prix last weekend.
After Mercedes had only collected seven points in two races in Monaco and Azerbaijan, Mercedes seemed to have been in a prime position for a win in France last weekend, before strategy errors made it possible for Max Verstappen to use his lead in Formula 1 and to expand.
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For Hamilton, however, this seemed unlikely at the beginning of the weekend, as team-mates Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen formed a league of their own in training, the seven-time champions were consistently three tenths behind.
Shovlin explained what it took to give the Briton a chance on the podium: “First and foremost, it was down to the coordination work.
“We were just trying to familiarize him with the car. As you know, he had a difficult Friday so we were just trying to give him a balance that he could push, that he could rely on.
“Before, the only problem was that the rear was very weak and unsettling. It was about regaining that stability so that he was confident of pushing the car hard.”
Red Bull has taken a step forward
Shovlin admitted that Red Bull had taken a step forward but insisted that Mercedes have what it takes to beat them as the season progresses, despite the weaknesses the world champions have shown lately.
“They are very fast on the straights but I think the way we look at it this team can, at best, beat Red Bull,” added Shovlin.
“At the end of the day we saw the opportunities that we missed. We know it will be difficult, they are the favorites, they clearly have a good package but if we do our best we can beat them.” and we can win the championship. “
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