Mercedes faces uphill battle adapting W15 to hot weather.
- Hamilton struggles with setup in Hungary’s high temperatures.
- Minimal adjustments between practice sessions for Mercedes.
- Hamilton sees improvement despite challenges in FP2.
- Qualifying in Hungary promises to be challenging but hopeful.
Despite the upgrades, Mercedes’ W15 continues to face difficulties in the high temperatures at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton expressed his dismay by describing the car’s performance as “just as bad” as at the season’s start. This highlights a critical ongoing issue with the car’s adaptability to heat.
In an interview with Lawrence Barretto after FP2, Hamilton pointed out that despite enhancements, the car is ill-suited for high temperatures. He stated, “It felt just as bad as it normally does when it’s hot.” His repeated emphasis on the temperatures underscores the team’s ongoing struggle to optimize the W15 for such conditions.
Mercedes attempted “little tweaks” between practice sessions, according to Hamilton. However, these minor adjustments didn’t lead to significant improvement, and one particular change seemed to require revisiting. Despite these challenges, Hamilton found the long-run pace to be promising, suggesting potential for future races.
Encouragingly, Hamilton climbed from a 10th place in FP1 to 7th in FP2, while teammate George Russell consistently secured fourth and fifth positions. This incremental progress indicates Mercedes’ potential to remain competitive, although significant hurdles remain, especially in qualifying sessions under such tough conditions.
Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, noted the rear-limited circuit challenges posed by the heat, stating that a win at the Hungarian Grand Prix would be “a long shot.” However, he remains optimistic that the race could serve as a platform to improve the car’s performance for future high-temperature tracks.
While Mercedes grapples with heat challenges, incremental improvements offer hope for future races.
