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Mercedes' technical director Mike Elliot claims that Lewis Hamilton was just two or three tenths off the Ferraris at the 2022 Austrian GP. The seven-time world champion finished the race in third place, having driven an impressive recovery drive after crashing out in Friday's qualifying session.
Charles Leclerc was clearly the fastest man on track in Austria, whom not even Max Verstappen was able to hold a candle up to. While Ferrari and Red Bull are considerably ahead of the rest of the field in 2022, Mercedes is slowly catching up to the front runners, thanks to a series of well-thought-out upgrades. Hamilton finished just 41-seconds behind Leclerc despite having been stuck behind slower cars for the majority of the race. Meanwhile, George Russell managed to finish in fourth place despite having received a five-second time penalty for his collision with Sergio Perez at the start of the race.
Mike Elliot spoke of Lewis Hamilton's impressive performance in Austria, claiming that Mercedes' gap to Red Bull and Ferrari is slowly reducing. He said:
“In the race on Sunday, Lewis was able to get through the slower cars that were in front of him. While we finished the race quite a chunk off the front, some of that was because the Ferraris and the Red Bull were able to stop under the Virtual Safety Car at the end and stop onto the medium tyres and effectively get a cheap stop. If you correct the pace for degradation, we think we were probably two, maybe three tenths behind the Ferrari, which was the quickest car in the race."
Only a matter of time until Lewis Hamilton gets his first win, claims British Touring Car driver
British Touring Car driver Jade Edwards claims it is 'only a matter of time' before Lewis Hamilton secures his first win in 2022. The Mercedes driver has been on the back foot this season but has recently shown incredible promise in his W13 car.
Lewis Hamilton has now surpassed his teammate George Russell for the most podiums by a Mercedes driver in 2022 by scoring his fourth of the season in Austria. The 37-year-old took third place in two consecutive races, but so far has failed to make it past the third step of the podium.
With the Mercedes W13 showing race-winning pace, however, it is only a matter of time before the esteemed driver returns to the top step of the podium, claims Jade Edwards.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Edwards said:
“It is good to see them back, in that mix again and I think on their day, they are going to be very strong and it is only a matter of time now before Lewis [Hamilton] gets that win. Love or hate Lewis - but I don’t think anyone is going to begrudge it. They’ve earned their dues this season. When he does step on that top step, there are going to be cheers from everyone.”
With experts such as Jolyon Palmer backing the German team to win its first race of the 2022 season at the upcoming French GP, fans of Lewis Hamilton can be hopeful of yet another win for the seven-time world champion.
