"We struggle more at the start of stints"- Mercedes' Toto Wolff believes 'there is much work still to do' for the team ahead of 2022 F1 Hungarian GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has remained realistic amidst the multiple podium positions scored by the team recently at the 2022 F1 French GP.

The Austrian was admittedly happy with the Silver Arrows' results but pointed out that there was still work required before the team became a contender for race wins. Speaking to the media, he said:

“We know there is much work still to do. The gap to the leaders on a single lap persists and we struggle more at the start of stints. Our reliability was good once again, and both Lewis [Hamilton] and George [Russell] were on strong form, to deliver a double podium.”

Looking ahead to the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, Wolff was not entirely sure of what to expect from the track, especially because of the constant divergence Mercedes has faced in terms of expectations from a race versus how it performs therein. He said:

“It’s hard to predict how we will fare because our expectations this year haven’t always matched up to reality, in terms of which tracks suit the W13.”

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' trackside engineering director, was pleased with how the race at Circuit Paul Ricard had turned out for the team. Speaking to the media, he said:

“That was our best race of the year and it was really pleasing to see both drivers racing at the front. We know that we’ve got a long road ahead of us but compared to where we were a couple of months ago in Monaco and Baku, it’s really satisfying to see the team and drivers having a bit of fun again.”

Shovlin further explained how the start of the weekend had not gone as expected and Mercedes was significantly down on speed, saying:

“The weekend hasn’t been easy, our qualifying positions weren’t far off expectation, but the gaps to Charles and Max were eye-opening. We’d hoped that the car would be kind on the tyres today, the conditions were very tough given the circuit and the temperature but degradation was good, and whilst we are lacking a bit of pace, we at least seemed a bit stronger towards the end of the stints.”

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Hard work has got us to a level where we can fight for a podium: Mercedes

Andrew Shovlin further attributed Mercedes' recent success to hard work. He also lauded the team's ability to keep chipping away at the gap and make those much-needed improvements since the start of the season. Hoping to make an impact at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, Shovlin said:

“We’ve only got a couple of days to try and regroup and prepare for Budapest. Hard work has got us to a level where we can fight for a place on the podium but we want to be fighting for the top step. We’ve got one race to go before the summer break so we will be pushing hard to try and finish the first half of the season on a high note.”

The German team is currently on a 5-race podium streak at the moment and it will be interesting to see if the team can continue that in Hungary as well.