2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Mchamilton]

It's like Lewis is finally recovering from the horror of Abu dhabi 2021 and driving like he used to again.

A bit of that and Russell is dropping off. Lewis hasn't stepped forward massively - the car is still 5 tenths off on a short lap - it's rather that Russell is simply slow since the update.

I'd love to have a crystal ball like you to know this stuff with such certainty.

[GrizzleBoy]

It feels possible to speculate at this point that Lewis was not supposed to be in F1 in these new regs.

He was supposed to win WDC in 2021 and hang up his gloves, with little to no input or experience with the W13s development.

George was in the sim for merc a whole lot during his preparation to join merc in 2022 and had pretty much already integrated himself into the team years in advance.

Once the W13s was exposed as a dog, Lewis had to start doing development again and once a car was released that he had some more input into (and his input was actually taken seriously "they wouldnt listen go me" etc etc), the balance in terms of speed vs his ream mate immediately shifted back towards him in a drastic way.

[PlatinumZealot]

Events like Abu dhabi really destroy a sportsman's mind. It's a miracle that he not only stayed in the sport in 2022 but also kept in a state of mind to even operate a race car. That mental turmoil and focusing enough to perform at the top level is really nothing to sneeze at. I am not being bold to attribute the "gapping" of George more to Lewis' mental recovery than "gelling" with any particular car attributes am I?

[denyall]

Events like Abu dhabi really destroy a sportsman's mind. It's a miracle that he not only stayed in the sport in 2022 but also kept in a state of mind to even operate a race car. That mental turmoil and focusing enough to perform at the top level is really nothing to sneeze at. I am not being bold to attribute the "gapping" of George more to Lewis' mental recovery than "gelling" with any particular car attributes am I?

I think it's a combination of a lot of things, recovery from AD21, not testing/suboptimal setups, belief that his feedback is being heard, updates to the package, greater trust in the car, and most importantly for Lewis, hope.

Perhaps the team really didn't consider his feedback last season and over winter and now they have, and he's faster in the car because of it?

Lewis is a spiritual guy, I think he's in a good mental place and the team and car have given him hope of winning, hence he's doing Lewis things in the car.

As for Russell, my dad always used to say the power of Tiger Woods is that he's Tiger Woods. The fact that you're in competition with the best in the world is hard on your subconscious. In his prime, Tiger rarely made mistakes on Sunday and won a lot of tournaments because of it. Anyone paired with the likes of Lewis, Max, Fernando is going to struggle mentally, especially when they start to make mistakes. Doubt creeps in and if you don't have the mental fortitude to overcome, you're finished.

[ringo]

I wont write off Russel. He still races strongly. Maybe the new car requires a different kind of preparation of the tyres and he hasnt understood it yet.
As for Austria, this track is not a strong one for merc. I thnk the off camber high speed nature really shows up a weak rear end.
5th isnt so bad in that regard.

[Hammerfist]

Car is still lacking one lap pace. I don’t know if they’ll ever resolve that issue. It’s been around for a long time now. I fully expect Lewis to beat Lando tomorrow and drop him like a stone. I suppose the Ferraris might be vulnerable as well but we shall see. From behind you still have to account for Alonso but stroll can be a nice buffer if Fernando doesn’t get him at the start. Already looking forward to that silverstone update. Hopefully another significant step will be made.

I was onboard with Lewis he was loosing boat loads of time into and out of turn 3, they are still in desperate need of more rear downforce.

I think the ferraris are going to eat their tires up because they were well off Lewis's time on hard's in fp1, and softs during the actual race seems like a horrendous idea.

Interesting. I just watched his onboards from q3 on. There was none of the usual snap oversteer on exit that has plagued this car all year. I did notice some understeer in the double left handers 6 and 7. Overall it looks like they have opted for lower downforce here. They are quick in the first sector but struggle massively in the rest of the lap. Usually you can get away with more downforce in Austria because it is at pretty high altitude. So I question the wing level they chose. We’ll see how it works on Sunday and the sprint race.

[dans79]

Usually you can get away with more downforce in Austria because it is at pretty high altitude. So I question the wing level they chose. We’ll see how it works on Sunday and the sprint race.

I think they are playing the balancing game. They don't have enough clean/efficient df at the rear for a maximum effort qualifying lap. During the race when it's more about tire management than maximum pace they are more competitive. Thus imo they have probably gone with a little less wing in the hopes that they can pick up enough more speed on the straits without killing the tires.

[Sidiamal]

I'm not sure that Russell's fallen off so much as Lewis has recovered his performance after the car was changed more to his liking. They weren't particularly close either last year once Lewis switched from test items to performance.

[bosyber]

Usually you can get away with more downforce in Austria because it is at pretty high altitude. So I question the wing level they chose. We’ll see how it works on Sunday and the sprint race.

I think they are playing the balancing game. They don't have enough clean/efficient df at the rear for a maximum effort qualifying lap. During the race when it's more about tire management than maximum pace they are more competitive. Thus imo they have probably gone with a little less wing in the hopes that they can pick up enough more speed on the straits without killing the tires.

With the sprint being wet I guess they can take today a bit easy, and hope for a dry race then.

[Spoutnik]

[Alex_Z]

It looked like Lewis was in a hurry to get a lap in before the checkered flag and blocked the Redbull in the final corner, Max being petty returned the favour

[proteus]

It's like Lewis is finally recovering from the horror of Abu dhabi 2021 and driving like he used to again.

I remember a driver called Ayrton Senna. He got kind of robbed in 89 and he managed to drive as strong as ever in his next season and seasons later all the way to his premature death.

[dans79]

It's like Lewis is finally recovering from the horror of Abu dhabi 2021 and driving like he used to again.

I remember a driver called Ayrton Senna. He got kind of robbed in 89 and he managed to drive as strong as ever in his next season and seasons later all the way to his premature death.

He also had a car that could fight for wins.

[organic]

It's like Lewis is finally recovering from the horror of Abu dhabi 2021 and driving like he used to again.

I remember a driver called Ayrton Senna. He got kind of robbed in 89 and he managed to drive as strong as ever in his next season and seasons later all the way to his premature death.

He also had a car that could fight for wins.

I distinctly remember the w13 fight for wins at Zandvoort, mexico, Brazil, Silverstone last season

[xaero]

It's like Lewis is finally recovering from the horror of Abu dhabi 2021 and driving like he used to again.

I remember a driver called Ayrton Senna. He got kind of robbed in 89 and he managed to drive as strong as ever in his next season and seasons later all the way to his premature death.

He also had a car that could fight for wins.

Anything which helps in Ham bashing Verstappen worship.