Wolff Downplays Mercedes's Chances For Victory Ahead Of Race In Budapest

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Mercedes looks forward to another test of their recent gains, but downplayed his team's chances of winning.

The German Formula 1 team, Mercedes, heads to the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix in great mood and anticipation, having won two races in the two preceding weekends.

While the team based in Brackley won the Austrian Grand Prix due to a collision in front, they scored a victory in Great Britain based on pure pace.

Mercedes will want to repeat this result in Hingary to score a third consecutive victory. However, their team principal, Toto Wolff, warns that his team doesn't yet have the car to compete for the victory at every circuit. He said in the Hungarian Grand Prix preview:

"We have continued to make progress with the W15 in recent races, and that led to those headline results in Austria and Silverstone. However, we know we do not yet have a car that can challenge for victories every weekend."

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Does the German team have a car to compete for victory this weekend in Budapest? Wolff wants to finish the first half of the season on a high but is aware that it will be challenging to repeat the success of the last two races.

"We head into this weekend focused on doing the best job we can. We hope to maintain this positive trajectory and finish the first half of the season as strongly as possible."

"The Hungaroring is different in character to the past couple of circuits. Unlike Silverstone, it features plenty of tight and twisty sections with just one meaningful straight."

The Hungarian Grand Prix is also expected to be a very hot race, with temperatures as high as 33 degrees Celsius throughout the weekend.

Such conditions have not suited Mercedes in the past and will provide another test for their recently introduced upgrades. The team principal added:

"It does contain some high-speed corners, too, and it will, therefore, be another good examination of the gains we have made across the corner speed range."