Can Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton make it five podiums in five races? The Mercedes paddock is heading into the Hungarian weekend, brimming with confidence after the French GP result. The Silver Arrows are now a shadow of their struggling self from the start of the season. However, the results of the first two practice sessions have painted a different picture for the team.

Hamilton is heading into the weekend as a record holder with eight wins on the Hungaroring. However, extending his tally to nine is going to be a mammoth task for the former world champion. A poor performance in the practice sessions has become somewhat of a trend for the Silver Arrows.

The Mercedes men suffered an extremely poor FP2 and Hamilton’s radio exchange with Bono outlined that.

Hamilton asked, “How far off are we?” Bono: “So currently P8. A 1.9 to Leclerc in P1.” Hamilton: “1.9 to the same tire?” Bono: “Affirm.”

After the practice sessions, Mercedes’ chief engineer Andrew Shovlin pointed out their FP2 error. He said, “We came in sort of wanting to do some experiments to do with the car and I think the ones we have done in FP2 have taken us backwards.”

“The car was together and there was little things that I am pretty certain we will be undoing overnight because it didn’t look great.”

The gap to the Ferrari of Leclerc absolutely perplexed Hamilton. There’s an enormous distance between the frontrunners and Mercedes as a win stays a distant dream. Considering that, the seven time world champion did not shy away from expressing his frustration from the FP2 session.

Lewis Hamilton expresses frustration over poor FP2 session

The second practice session was hugely frustrating for both Hamilton and Russell. Hamilton finished the session at P11, whereas Russell could only manage a P8. It was an extremely poor performance with the French GP result in retrospect.

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Commenting on the poor state of the W13, Hamilton said, “The car’s a bit of a struggle. At the moment it’s a little bit loose and it’s not doing what we wanted to do.”The team is taking responsibility for the poor upgrades and the result from the FP3 will reveal Mercedes’ chances in the race.

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