Shovlin predicts chances for Mercedes at Silverstone: 'Will be challenging'

Mercedes' two consecutive dramatic weekends in Austria confirmed what the team has known for some time: the Red Bull Ring is not Mercedes' circuit. Looking ahead to the Grand Prix at Silverstone, technical director Andrew Shovlin predicts the team's chances at this quasi-home race.

"It’s fair to say that Austria is a track that, over the years, we have struggled at", Shovlin begins in the usual Mercedes debrief on Youtube. "It’s a difficult circuit and one that doesn’t seem to suit our car and we’re trying to understand those issues", said the technical director.

Opportunities at Silverstone

At Silverstone, Shovlin sees this trend mirrored: "Silverstone, on the contrary, is one that we’ve tended to go very well at." He believes that Lewis Hamilton in particular always manages to perform strongly, and gives multiple reasons. "Lewis really enjoys that circuit. Some of it is the layout and the high-speed nature but also the fantastic support he has there from the home crowd."

Despite this, the technical director knows that his team still has mountains to move before it can challenge the current reigning power by the name of Red Bull Racing. Shovlin: "It’s still going to be a challenging race weekend, but hopefully we can put on a better showing and take the fight to Red Bull."