Spanish GP – Mercedes confirms the goodness of the update introduced at this stage of the season by achieving another podium. The second in a row after the one obtained in Canadian territory. Although it was believed on the eve of the race that the W15 would suffer in the race, in the end it managed to even finish above Ferrari.
Right in Maranello they must start worrying about this exploit of team of Brackley because going fast on the Montmeló circuit means having a good car and, more importantly, the Spanish GP gave excellent feedback about the update Mercedes to its engineers, confirming to them that the direction taken by the factory is the right one.
Hamilton did well, finding his smile again after the difficult Canadian GP and an excellent response from the Mercedes team to accusations of sabotage towards the driver who made F1 history with them.
Spanish GP 2024, how did the Mercedes race go?
Both Mercedes start with tyres soft. At the start it was George Russell who surprised everyone: taking advantage of the tussle between Norris and Verstappen, the Briton took advantage of the clean part of the track to brake and easily overtake Lando and Max. However, after a lap in the lead, the '98 Mercedes driver had to surrender to Max who has more pace.
Despite this, he manages to keep Lando Norris's McLaren behind because, although faster on pace, the latter is unable to reach the speed on the straight necessary to overtake. Only by returning to the pits will Russell lose his position over Norris.
We then arrive at the first stop. The two Mercedes, like everyone else, find themselves having to manage the medium tire on a high-degradation track. Hamilton's overtaking inside Turn 1 against Sainz was fantastic. The Spanish driver can't do anything against a Mercedes today superior to Ferrari.
The race proceeds normally, until it's time to change the tires again. This time at Mercedes they decide to differentiate the strategy of the two drivers by fitting Russell with the hard tire and Hamilton with a used red one.
In the end the soft tire will prevail as the white tire never lit up. In the final part of the race Russell must be careful not to be overtaken by Leclerc's Ferrari (with red tyres). The two Mercedes did well, taking P3 and P4.
Let's see in detail the words of the two Mercedes drivers.
Spanish GP 2024, Russell: “Last night I dreamed of overtaking in turn one”
Post-race, Russell confirmed his difficulties with the harder compound. Between top teamIn fact, the only ones to mount the white tire were him and Sainz, and they were the only ones to suffer at the end of the race. Happy, however, with the team's result and satisfied with the overtaking made in turn one.
“I dreamed about it last night but I didn't think it would come true. I knew I could brake deep and late into the first corner and I think I caught the guys a little off guard. It was quite satisfying,” This is how the Mercedes driver begins his interview.
Unfortunately, despite the excellent start, the '98 class did not have the right pace to defend against Verstappen, a film already anticipated in the simulations of the long runs on Fridays. But given Mercedes' extraordinary change of direction, it would be no surprise to see them fighting for top position in the recent future, given also Toto Wolff's desire to build a winning car to convince Max to join Mercedes starting next season.
![Mercedes GP Spain race](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0921.png)
“A couple of things went against us today. The slow pit stop put me in a bit of trouble mid-stint and then I was forced to pit a little early at the end."
“That hard tire was really rubbish today, but we knew that P3 and P4 would be the best we could aim for and so we needed to protect that result. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted the podium but Lewis did a great job today."
“We will fight for the victory in the next races. Max and Lando are doing a great job and are still ahead of us. Austria will probably be difficult for us. Historically, we have always suffered. Silverstone will be the next big test."
Returning then to the path that Mercedes is taking to revive a team who did not inspire at the beginning of the season, Russell confirms that the team knows what to do to improve performance.
“We are going through a good period. We are clear about the right direction to take to make the big leap."
Spanish GP 2024, Hamilton: “Shame about leaving”
Excellent race by the seven-time world champion who positioned himself behind Verstappen and Norris and ahead of his teammate Russell. The impression is that, due to the bad start, he lost precious time.
“Solid weekend. I thank the team because the strategy was perfect, also they trained a lot in the pit stop. Just like Lando, I also made a bad start and lost a lot of ground there. It was hard to get back up. I believe that with a better start we would not have been so far behind."
![Mercedes GP Spain race](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0922.png)
Hamilton concludes the interview by commenting on the fight with the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and the choice of a softer compound unlike his teammate: “As we had already planned at the beginning of the week, George mounted the hard ones and I mounted the soft ones. All the overtaking was close but it has to be like this: with Carlos we collided with the wheels, but everything was at the limit and correct."
Crediti foto: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team