Mercedes was once again in damage limitation mode – this time in Germany – but at the chequered flag at Hockenheim, the team celebrated a double victory. Lewis Hamilton won while his main title rival Sebastian Vettel made a mistake and crashed. Valtteri Bottas was second.
“We’ve had our fair share of bad luck this season, but it felt like our fortunes turned around in Hockenheim”, Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff commented.
“A one-two is always a great result; to get it on Mercedes home turf after starting from P2 and P14 on the grid was absolutely incredible. However, in the cold light of day, we also know and recognise that we did not bring the quickest car to Hockenheim.”
Hungary will see another tough fight with both Ferrari and Red Bull, Wolff reckons
“We’ve passed the halfway point of the season and we lead both championships by very close margins. Each and every member of our team has worked very hard to make this possible and the determination and energy in our factories seem to be ever-growing. We all know that no prizes are given out for half-time champions, so we will keep pushing to improve our performance.”
“Hungary will see another tough fight with both Ferrari and Red Bull. It’s a high downforce track and on paper, they should both be very fast in Budapest. However, if there’s one thing the German Grand Prix taught us, it’s the fact that predictions don’t determine race results. We will give it everything to go into the summer shutdown with as many points as possible”, Wolff concluded.
IT’S RACE WEEK!!!!
(again…)#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/BTrajHVnje
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 25, 2018