Mercedes confident Hamilton will benefit from key car change at Hungarian GP

17 July 2023 , 15:05

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Mercedes technical director James Allison (Image: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team)

Mercedes technical director James Allison is hoping to see improved performances from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished third at the recent British Grand Prix, while Russell came in sixth and Allison believes the team's new front wing will have a more significant impact on their performances in Hungary after some 'promising early signs' at Silverstone.

Mercedes upgraded their front wing for the British Grand Prix and Allison has revealed it "should improve the balance and performance of the car through the slower range of the corners". And with the course in Hungary "made up almost entirely of slower stuff", it should help Mercedes be more competitive.

"The new front-wing is of course designed to make us go faster," Allison said. "That's why we do all our things.

"The specific characteristics of this new front-wing that we are excited about, is that it should improve the balance and performance of the car through the slower range of the corners. Now, Silverstone is famous for lots of things but lots and lots of slow corners is not one of them.

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"What we took as a comfort from Silverstone is that in the slower parts of the track, we were looking pretty decently competitive. That's a tick in the box for this new front-wing.

"But I guess it will only be when we get to Hungary, which is a track made up almost entirely of slower stuff, that we'll get to know for sure. Early sings are promising, the new front-wing seemed to do what we expected and hopefully it will bring us more at tracks which have a wider range of slow corners."

Lewis Hamilton is currently fourth in the drivers' standings, while his Mercedes teammate George Russell is sixth (Dan Mullan - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Allison's comments come after Hamilton admitted he 'really doesn't care' where he finishes this year and is more focused on ensuring Mercedes are in a strong position to 'hit the ground running' from race one next year. "We have a new wing this weekend so it's not a huge update, but people work so hard just for that wing so I'm hoping that it helps us take a step in the right direction," he said.

"Bit by bit as we bolt on these things, the car's becoming more and more of a race car. Look if we're competing like last year towards the end of this season, on one side that's a good thing on another, the other teams have probably switched off and focused on the next year.

"I really don’t care what position I finish in this year. I'm just focused on just trying to give the best development information for the team, working with the guys to make sure we steer this car in the right way and when we start the first race or the first test next year we hit the ground running."

Matthew Cooper