Lewis Hamilton Is Pleased With Mercedes' Friday Performance at the Dutch GP

Improvements for the German team have been steady and their reliability spotless. The biggest leap we saw was at the Hungarian GP and Zandvoort seems to be another track that suits the W13. So far, the one-lap pace has been the Achilles' heel of the Silver Arrows, and they are well aware of that, but the speed they have shown on Friday places them in a great spot to take the fight to the Scuderia.

With Ferrari’s poor reliability record and dubious strategy calls, the second spot in the World Constructors Championship is within striking distance for Mercedes. Albeit, this was probably made possible by Red Bull having issues in both sessions, but it is certain to make the fight for the second spot a lot more interesting. The gap between the two teams is now just 41 points and with 8 races still to go, a switch of positions is still more than possible.

When asked about his free practice performance, Lewis Hamilton stated that it feels a lot better than what he managed to achieve during last weekend’s race in Spa Francorchamps. Moreover, he pointed out that their one-lap pace also feels much better and that the team seems to have hit a sweet spot for the Dutch GP.

While admitting Mercedes still has some troubles with bouncing, the 7-time World Champion kept an optimistic approach and stated there is enough time for them to chip away at Ferrari’s lead. However, the British driver was not so giddy about their chances to outpace Red Bull during the race and get his maiden win. He reminded the viewers that even though the Silver Arrows do improve from Friday to Sunday, so does Red Bull, with them usually gaining 0.6 to 0.7 seconds of race pace.