“The recent tracks have suited us more”: Lewis Hamilton revelation of Mercedes’ new found pace may force Red Bull to erupt with joy

Lewis Hamilton believes that Mercedes have been performing strongly due to the tracks suiting them rather than developments made to the car. 

Mercedes have turned a lot of heads recently with their strong results. The W12 has shown a lot of pace in the second half of the season, and many people feel that they have an advantage over Red Bull with just six races to go.

The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were no match to Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes in Turkey last week, as confessed by the team principal Christian Horner.

Horner said: “Their straight line speed has taken a significant step recently. We could match them with smaller wings previously, now we can’t get near.”

“Lewis in particular had a significant straight-line advantage with a bigger rear wing on the car. We’ve got to maximize our package as best we can and as I say it’s surprising that they appeared to have made the step that they have with the power unit.”

Also read: Engine woes for Mercedes see no end, could play a deciding factor in the bid for the championship

We haven’t done anything to the car, Lewis Hamilton insists

When asked about their recent jump, Hamilton said, “We haven’t done anything to the car so I don’t really know why that is the case.” Instead, the 7-time World Champion believes that the tracks have been suiting them more.

I think the two tracks that we’ve just driven on have maybe suited us a little bit more. The car has been feeling good. It felt great this weekend, and moving forwards, Valtteri did a great job.”, Hamilton said after the race.

Win in Turkey 🏆#VB77 #F1 #TurkishGP@MercedesAMGF1 @F1 pic.twitter.com/U6SdPSLA0u

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) October 10, 2021

The British driver struggled to challenge the front three in Turkey after a strategy goof up but Bottas’ win increased Mercedes’ lead over Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings.

Max Verstappen will be hoping that it was indeed  the tracks that were suiting his challenger’s car. With just 6 races to go, he leads Hamilton by just six points. The battle between the two resumes next weekend in Austin, at the US Grand Prix.