General
Wolff fears Red Bull in Hungary: "100 percent convinced they'll be strong"
- GPblog.com
Mercedes did well in Austria (Styrian GP) last weekend with a one-two, but for the upcoming Grand Prix everything is open again. During the Styrian Grand Prix Red Bull Racing still had difficulty to perform at the same level as the silver arrows, but in Hungary everything should be to their advantage. After all, the Hungaroring is a circuit that in theory suits the RB16 better than the W11 and that's what Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff watches out for. come very strong in Hungary
Where Mercedes lost it
"I think where we lost to Red Bull is the slow speed corners, particularly Turns 3 and 4, seem to be our vulnerabilities", Wolff looks back on last weekend's Grand Prix at Autosport. "Everywhere else on the straights and in the fast corners, we are quicker. We just need to continue to develop and push and understand the car."
The layout of the circuit in Budapest is completely different with many more corners and less long straights. This is an advantage for Red Bull, as the downforce on this circuit is more important. Wolff: "Budapest is a totally different ball game. Lots of downforce, lots of these slow and medium-speed corners. We'll see how it works there."
"I'm 100% convinced that [Red Bull] will come very strong in Hungary. It's a track that historically they have shown great performance. We have improved there too in the last few years, but it was always a difficult weekend." But that doesn't rule out a fight for the lead, as we saw last year when Hamilton passed by Verstappen and took the win.
High temperatures
A high temperature can still play a role, given that the "Achilles heel" is from Mercedes. For now it looks like it's going to get very hot, so that could lead to interesting situations. "We need to prepare well, put all the focus on Budapest, and then hopefully do the best out of that", said the team boss of Mercedes.