2022 F1 Mercedes W13 meets expectations at Silverstone

Under the threat of storm Eunice, with gusts of wind close to 100 km/h at Silverstone, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton carried out the first run on the track of the Mercedes W13 that had been presented moments before during the day on Friday.

The two drivers were able to complete a maximum of 17 laps of the British track, as they could not exceed the 100-kilometre limit imposed by the regulations for a promotional filming day. It was a particularly emotional moment for Russell , who despite having driven all the German team’s cars since 2017, was on this occasion taking his first laps as official driver and owner of the Mercedes team.

“I got goosebumps when it first started,” said the Briton. “I’ve driven it so many times, I’ve done so many laps in the simulator, I’ve seen so many drawings and I’ve had so many meetings about it… but nothing better than going to a circuit. It almost takes me back to my roots, you know: A cold, rainy and windy day at Silverstone, but this time it’s with the Mercedes team.”

However, Russell made no secret of the fact that the storm made things difficult: “I’d say I’ve never seen this much wind in my entire racing career. It’s absolutely crazy! But we managed to keep the car on the tarmac. Overall it behaved as expected.” , but at the same time, with these conditions, wet and windy, you can’t draw many conclusions”.

The Mercedes W13, obviously, complies with the new technical regulations, which are committed to ground effect, while the tires have increased in volume and are now 18 inches. Russell had already done hundreds, if not thousands of laps with this car in the Brackley simulator, and said its behavior on track clearly lived up to expectations.

“It matched very well with what we saw in the simulator. But it’s going to be a constant learning process. I think we’re all going to take this day with a grain of salt, making sure that the car can be driven well, that the drivers are comfortable and that we are in the best possible situation for the first pre-season tests in Barcelona”, concluded the young Briton.