Mercedes Technical Director Mike Elliott talks about the team’s recent success and going into the summer break at the top of the championship standings.
It’s not a stretch to say that the first half of the 2021 season has been the toughest for Mercedes since 2013. The fight with Red Bull is incredibly close, and the Austrian team has shown on numerous occasions that they have the faster package.
However, a combination of hard work and luck has allowed Mercedes to turn things around in the last two races and go into the summer break at the top of the championship standings.
“I think a few races ago, we probably would have been looking at this and thinking, this is going to be really tough going into a break, not in the position we wanted to be in the championship and with a car which felt we were clearly second best,” Mike Elliott explained in Mercedes’ Hungarian Grand Prix debrief.
“We have obviously had some good results in the last two races, luck has definitely gone in our favour and we are sitting in a good position in the championship.
“But I think for me, what’s really encouraging is the pace we have shown in the last two races.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“Particularly the qualifying in Budapest, to qualify one and two and by a reasonable margin, that’s the strongest position we have been in so far this season.
“The rest of the season is definitely going to be tough, it is going to be a real fight. I think it is going to be one of those classic F1 seasons, hopefully, one we win, but I think it is going to be fantastic for the viewers to watch.”
Now Formula 1 heads into the summer break, and Elliott believes the team’s recent success will allow them to take full advantage of it.
“For those of you that don’t know, in Formula 1 we have a two week enforced break where everybody goes away, there is no emails, there is nothing us technical people can do and me, personally, I am really looking forward to it.
“I think it has been a really tough season so far and I think we are probably feeling quite tired.
“I think we have been enthused and energised by the last two races, the team needs a break, and I am sure they will come back really strong as a result of that,” concluded the Briton.
