Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton will win the British Grand Prix if his car is “a few tenths off the leaders”.
The home hero is an eight-time winner at Silverstone and would set a new Formula 1 record for the most wins by a driver at a single circuit if he did finish first on Sunday.
Of course, based on this season so far, such an outcome might seem unrealistic but Wolff was confident Hamilton wouldn’t need the fastest car to do it.
“I think if we give him a car that is just a few tenths off the leaders, he will win the race,” the ambitious Austrian told Reuters.
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“He’s the most complete driver ever and everybody has his favourite circuit and with Lewis, it was always Silverstone, Montreal and Hungary as well.
“I guess if you have 150,000 people cheering for you in the grandstands it gives you the home game advantage.”
Expectations were set higher heading to Silverstone after an encouraging race in Canada that saw Hamilton claim just his second podium of the year.
Additionally, the famous high-speed corners plus a smooth track surface were also expected to suit Mercedes’ kangarooing W13.
And after practice, the predictions of Hamilton being a dark horse for this weekend appeared correct as he finished second fastest to Carlos Sainz in FP2.
“It has been a good day, so I was happy with that,” the seven-time world champion later assessed.
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“It’s still bouncing quite a bit, not necessarily in a straight line but through the corners is pretty harsh. Not physically harsh, but just like in the car, on the tyres and everything.
“You can’t just drive the tracks the same as you used to with this car with how stiff it is, the ride characteristics and this porpoising that we do get which a lot of it is actually from the ride stiffness.
“It’s not the same but I’m still having fun,” he added. “Turn 1 is great, Maggotts and Becketts are still pretty mega, and Stowe – they’re my favourite corners.
“We’ve still got work to do, but it feels like a small step forwards. Our long-run pace isn’t as good as the other guys but it’s not miles off.
“It definitely makes an improvement. I’m sure overnight we can work and improve the car like we want.”
Asked about his prospects of victory, Hamilton concluded: “We are working towards that first win (of 2022). It would be an incredible result if we got that this weekend.”
