Mercedes arrived at the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix with its batteries recharged after the summer break, which came after a Hungarian Grand Prix in which the German team achieved its best result of the season by placing its two drivers on the podium
Lewis Hamilton, who has a streak of five races in the positions of honour, did not manage to get past ninth and sixth in Friday free practice at Spa-Francorchamps, with a best time that was almost a second and a half behind. best time of the day, set by Max Verstappen.
These results, which come just one day after the Briton himself recognized that he saw Mercedes much closer to achieving its first victory of the course, have made doubts return to haunt the seven-time Formula World Champion 1.
Speaking about his feelings after Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 of the Belgian GP, Hamilton explained that he did not understand why his W13 had been so slow compared to the top teams.
Looking for an answer, the Mercedes man denied that they had gone out on the track with much more gasoline than their rivals: “I would say no, we just haven’t been very fast. I don’t know why.”
Although it is still early days, as the engineers have not been able to analyze all the data collected by both Hamilton and his teammate, George Russell, the veteran driver explained that the most worrying thing was that nothing felt particularly wrong.
“I really don’t know. We’re going to work and give everything we’ve got. It’s just that, yeah, it could be the tyres, the temperature, it could be the level of the wing, it could be a multitude of things.
“The point is that none of these aspects are disastrous. It’s just that we are very far away,” said the Briton after the second free practice session in Spa.
However, it is not the first time so far this season that Mercedes has started the weekend away from Red Bull and Ferrari to get closer little by little as the final sessions arrive; qualifying and the race, something that allows Hamilton to remain positive.
“But we are often in this same position on Fridays and things change a bit when Saturday comes around. So hopefully that will be the case again,” the 37-year-old concluded.
