Mercedes drivers impressed by McLaren’s turn of speed
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McLaren's Lando Norris (left) celebrates after finishing the race in second place with third placed Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SILVERSTONE – Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell looked enviously at McLaren’s new-found speed, after losing out to their Woking rivals for the second race in a row on Sunday.
McLaren’s Lando Norris lived the dream of being top British driver with second place at his home grand prix, finishing ahead of seven-time world champion Hamilton in third.
Russell finished fifth behind McLaren’s Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who lost out to Hamilton due to the unfortunate timing of the safety car.
Norris had qualified on the front row, alongside Red Bull’s pole-sitter and eventual winner Max Verstappen,
Asked whether the Mercedes-powered McLarens were now faster, Hamilton – the winner of a record eight British grands prix and appearing on the Silverstone podium for the 14th time in his career – replied: “Yes. 100 per cent. And last week. It’s really amazing to see the McLaren back up in competitive form. I think it’s been such a long time.
“They deserve to have the performance they have, so we’ve got to do a better job.”
Hamilton made his debut with McLaren in 2007 and won his first title with them in 2008.
“It’s my family, it’s where I first started, so to see them back up there, looking so strong...” he said.
“I mean that thing was rapid through the high-speed corners.
“I couldn’t keep up, but we had a good little battle on the restart (after the safety car).”
Russell said the pace of the McLaren had been “super-impressive”.
He said: “Our pace was probably better than we expected compared to Red Bull, Aston (Martin) and Ferrari.
“But McLaren have clearly turned it up in two races now, two racing circuits, they have definitely been a small step ahead of us...
“I could not believe how well they turned the tyres on.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris lived the dream of being top British driver with second place at his home grand prix.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Norris was fourth at Austria’s Red Bull Ring the previous weekend, with Russell seventh and Hamilton eighth.
“I don’t know how they’ve found this much performance. It’s been quite surprising,” said Russell.
He felt McLaren would have been even further ahead had they opted for soft tyres rather than hards in the final stint.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff added on Sky Sports: “Today they (McLaren) had the better car...
“They made a big step ahead and that’s good for us to see that this is possible, how quickly you can catch up. So, we’ve got to go for the Red Bulls.”
Mercedes were not the only ones who were impressed.
Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion and former McLaren driver, said on Sky Sports: “Austria is one thing but coming here – qualifying was an amazing job – and doing it in the race is awesome.
“It really shows they have a car that works with low fuel, high fuel and everything in between.
“They are in a good position now and this is the biggest step we have had from McLaren for a long time.”
While there was much praise for his team, rookie Piastri said his fourth place was “bittersweet”.
The 22-year-old Australian had been running third before the delay when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas suffered an engine failure.
McLaren’s rookie driver Oscar Piastri said his fourth place was “bittersweet”.
PHOTO: AFP
Hamilton took advantage to take a “cheap” pit stop and third place.
Piastri said: “We were unlucky with the safety car timing with Lewis getting a free stop.
“But it’s nice in some ways to be disappointed with a fourth place, considering where we were at the start of the year!
“A massive credit to the team...
“Clearly the upgrades we’ve brought to the car are working an absolute treat.
“Exciting times for the future.” REUTERS, AFP
