Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England, on July 7, 2024.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes competitive entering F1 Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes competitive entering F1 Hungaria...

By Jay Postrado July 18, 2024 10:01

Clive Rose / Getty Images

Finally scoring two straight victories means that Mercedes might officially be back in Formula 1 World Constructors’ Championship contention. First, it was a masterclass with a hint of luck from George Russell which got them the top spot in the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix. Then, a blood-hungry Lewis Hamilton who had Silverstone mastered like the back of his hand followed it up with a British Grand Prix podium. Will the Silver Arrows complete the triad of race wins at the Hungaroring? While they may have the power to compete, the squad does not sound too overconfident.

As of writing, Mercedes sits fourth in the World Constructors’ Championship right behind McLaren. The Silver Arrows currently have 221 championship points due to their two wins and four podium finishes. This is split between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell with the two separated by one point in the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship. Russell is at seventh with 111 points while Hamilton is ranked at eighth with 110 of his own.

With a strong showing in the Hungarian Grand Prix, these two can both usurp Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (118 points) and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (124 points) to move up in the standings. Mercedes, however, is wary about being too confident about the W15. Lewis Hamilton outlined that they should be up there with the pace that Red Bull and McLaren have but still need more to compete for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, via Sky Sports.

"There's still a long, long way to go, but the car, by no means, is the car the quickest car on the grid right now. I think we are super close, and I think hopefully with a couple of, with the next upgrade perhaps, we will be in an even stronger position to be fighting at the front row more consistently," the seven-time world champion said.

After fixing the huge porpoising issue along with scrapping their no sidepod philosophy, Mercedes has slowly come into form. While they don’t look anything like their late 2010s and early 2020s selves, they still have the pace to beat out a raging Honda engine that the Red Bull has.

In the British Grand Prix, Hamilton finished +1.465 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Russell also had a +1.960 second edge over second-placer Oscar Piastri in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Mercedes: happy to compete, wary of opponents

With all of this said, Toto Wolff echoed the same sentiment as his outgoing veteran driver. While the Mercedes boss knows that there is much to improve, the optimism is still there for a race win and double podium finish.

"The Hungaroring is different in character to the past couple of circuits. Unlike Silverstone, it features plenty of tight and twisty sections, with just one meaningful straight. It does contain some high-speed corners too however and it will therefore be another good examination of the gains we've made across the corner speed range. We head into the weekend focused on doing the best job we can. We hope to maintain this positive trajectory and finish the first half of the season as strongly as possible."

Will the Silver Arrows become a threat and win their third straight race in the 2024 Formula 1 season?