Lewis Hamilton says that the Mercedes Formula 1 team has been “rejuvenated” by the wins logged by George Russell in Austria and Hamilton himself at Silverstone.
Hamilton admitted that earlier in the season, the team didn’t think that it would regain winning form within 2024. However, he insisted that Mercedes never lost its “fighting spirit,” and that is now paying dividends.
“We weren’t sure whether or not, result-wise, that we were going to get there,” he said. “We didn’t know that by this point in the season, we’d be fighting for wins. And jeez, we’re so grateful that we are.
“I don’t think the fighting spirit has ever left this team. But when you’re trying and trying and trying and failing, trying and failing, it’s hard for everyone.
“So I would say it’s probably rejuvenated everyone in the team both here and back at the factory, and what is possible, and that the hard work is really starting to pay off, and we’re seeing a huge surge of energy, and it’s filtered through us, and so I hope that that continues to show in our results.”
However, he cautioned that it’s still too early for the team to assume it is back in regular contention for wins.
“Every weekend has been the ultimate test of sheer willpower within our team and persistence,” he said. “We definitely don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. I think that’s key in our approach.
“But also, it’s game on. We’re fighting, and we’re chasing, and we’re going to try and win as many races or compete for as many wins as possible.
“It may turn out this weekend that the Red Bull still light years ahead, or the McLaren is still this weekend. Who knows?
“But I think what we’ve shown over the past few races is that with determination, with real focus, just persistent chasing for perfection and improvement, you can make a difference.
“So we are united as a team, and we’re going to try and make sure we finish the season on a high. If we can lift the team up in the ladder of constructors’, if we can progress – we’re not too far off the drivers are ahead of us – then that would be great.”
Silverstone win was crucial
Hamilton admitted that the Silverstone win has been a boost for him personally after three difficult seasons.
“I definitely would say body language and energy has definitely felt a shift in this past week,” he said. “But I’m still me, and I’m still unsure of what’s up ahead, and just trying to prepare the best I can for it.
“And I guess it just ultimately shows that anything is possible. Just continue to keep pushing, keep going. There’s going to be turbulence up ahead, I’m sure, but also the possibility for good days.”
Meanwhile, Russell suggested that the Hungarian and Belgian races would be an important test of the W15’s form.
“It’s really exciting for all of us,” said the Austrian GP winner. “If you told us at the start of the year we’d be going into Hungary fighting for three wins in a row, we wouldn’t have believed it.
“And we’ve led the last four races since the upgrades, which is an incredible turnaround for us, and everybody’s super motivated.
“There’s no guarantees going into the next two race weekends. I think from these last four, we’ve had without the quickest car and qualifying in two of them and the quickest car in the race in two of them, but still in Austria and Barcelona, we were a good 10 to 20 seconds behind Max and Lando.
“We just need to see this race weekend, and in Spa, I think if we have two good race weekends here, we’ll be fast everywhere. We said that in Silverstone. But if we can achieve it again these next two, I think we’ll be there for the rest of this season.”
