Mercedes are looking good while coming to the Austin Weekend as Lewis Hamilton gets a stunning P2 in the sprint race. From being the dominant team on the grid for more than 5 years, they lost their way coming towards the 2022 season, facing a lot of issues including proposing. It was a very difficult season for Mercedes, coming into the 2023 season Mercedes looked good but lost its way in between but now after making so many updates on the car Mercedes looks ready to roll.
Progress of Mercedes:
As Hamilton gets P2 he appreciates the pace of Max Verstappen, the 2023 champion was too hard to catch as mentioned by Lewis his pace was impressive. He said his pace is undeniably fast he was unable to match his pace.
The seven-time world champion is having a really great weekend in Austin, United States, in Friday’s qualifying for the main race, he stood out finishing 3rd keeping up with his efforts and pace, and finishing 2nd in the sprint race.
After his race, he explained that the car felt good while driving and it was fun to drive, he had a very good battle with Charles who drives for Ferreri, and almost thought that he could overtake Max but he took the lead within the 10 seconds of the opening lap. Further stated that he’s happy with the car’s progress and the team effort behind that, further adding that there’s still a long way to go but the progress is there.
The front row of the grid for the race will be Leclerc followed by Noris followed by Lewis as Max’s lap time got deleted due to not staying within the track limits and he’ll be starting from 6th, giving the top 3 starters a very good chance to finish 1st and expressing his thoughts on this Lewis said he is really keen for the race as it can be a very good opportunity for them because he wants to finish first as he has had his last win in 2021 season.
Fans will also be hoping for a different winner this weekend but no matter where Max starts he ends up winning the race anyway as Red Bull’s pace is unbeatable and Max’s skills are impressive. Mercedes and McLaren are the only teams fighting against Red Bull at this stage of the season, from the beginning, only Mercedes were pulling their way up but had their lows in between. After mid-season upgrades, McLaren has shown amazing progress.
On the other hand, Gorge Russell another Mercedes driver qualified 8th but he received a 3-grid place penalty due to which he’ll be starting 11th, the penalty was because he impeded Leclerc in the shootout, and he also received a five-second penalty for gaining an unfair advantage of the rookie Oscar. Gorge has been impressive this year a has had his highs and lows with his team and his teammate Lewis. Saying that be believes that the 5-second penalty was fair and feels sad that he couldn’t take Sainz as it would have let him maintain his position on 7th from Gasley. All in all, expressing his frustration he said that it was not a good day for him.
Formula One fans are very excited about this race as there can be an opportunity for someone else to win They have only seen 3 different winners so far in 18 races and the season is about to end. Norris can become the 1st time Grand Prix winner, Leclerc might find his way back from the misery and Lewis might win a race after 2 years and that’s what makes this race even more exciting for the teams as well as the fans.
