Mercedes entered the 2022 season with the intention of extending its run of eight consecutive wins in the constructors’ championship, which it amassed throughout the entire era of hybrid V6 engines.
However, the team has had problems adapting to the new technical regulations this year, mainly due to the porpoising and rebounding suffered by their W13.
That has left Red Bull and Ferrari virtually alone at the front of the grid in this first half of the campaign, while the Silver Arrows try to overcome their setbacks to return to their glory days.
En route to Silverstone for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he expected to face a bigger challenge in the upcoming events, having won seven of the first nine races this year. year.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he thought Mercedes would be a factor during the British Grand Prix weekend, Horner replied: “Without a doubt, I think they will be strong at Silverstone. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t.” they are, at Paul Ricard, the same, and I think Ferrari will also be fast at Silverstone.
“It could be a more challenging circuit for us, just because of the nature of this track,” he continued. “It’s unbelievable that we’ve gone on a six-win run, [but] Silverstone could be the most difficult.”
Mercedes has won eight of the last ten races that have been held at Silverstone. Only victory eluded him at the 2018 British Grand Prix and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, which was held in 2020.
The team plans to bring some updates to this weekend’s race in a bid to take another step forward to challenge both Red Bull and Ferrari.
This will follow the progress he made on his porpoising problem at the Spanish Grand Prix, thanks to a series of updates to the W13 car. Red Bull opted for an early update to its RB18, helping it gain ground on Ferrari from the start of the European season at Imola in April.
Horner said the team had “nothing big” planned for its car between now and the summer break in early August, instead explaining that they would deploy a “very modest evolution”.
“Components are introduced as components reach the end of their useful life,” Horner noted. “It is a very different form of development than what was seen in previous years.”
