Mercedes: We need to keep adding performance

With Red Bull finding their mojo from day one, 'Best of the Rest' soon became the theme of the ten races they have been unbeaten in thus far. Refreshingly, however, early in the season, we had Aston Martin in Fernando Alonso's hands photobombing podiums. Ferrari threatens every now and then despite themselves. And, now we have the McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri shining. All because their teams find a little magic for their respective cars.

Meanwhile, Mercedes - seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and next-gen hotshot George Russell in the driving seats - have been humbled by their customer teams, their cars devoid of that magic they once owned for too long. Thankfully for them after a year and a half too long persisting stubbornly with their zero-sidepods-zero-reward theory, they seem on track to reign in the humiliation.

Despite the apparent upsurge in form, there is no time for rest acknowledged Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff in his team's preview: "We head to Hungary looking forward to tackling the double-header before the summer shutdown. It has been an up-and-down first half of the year, but we can take several positives.

"At Silverstone, we outscored our closest competitors. We executed well on race day. We were able to race to the podium and extend our P2 advantage in the championship. However, the order is fluctuating almost every weekend. We need to keep adding performance if we are to close the gap to the front and fight for victories," reckoned Wolff.

While Red Bull march to its second consecutive F1 title, and Verstappen his third in a row, they top the 2023 F1 constructors' standings with more than double the points Mercedes have amassed. The German team lie second in the standings. Clearly, nothing less will suffice come the end of the season for the once Kings of F1.

But it won't be easy as Wolff knows: "Several teams have made big gains recently. This has brought some into the fight with us, especially McLaren. It has been impressive and gives us encouragement that we can also continue to find gains. We relish that challenge and will bring our own steps in due course."

Records show that Hamilton is the most successful driver in Hungarian Grand Prix history, with eight victories. Next on the list is Michael Schumacher with four wins to his name. Verstappen has only won there once.

Wolff continued: "The Hungaroring is a circuit that is quite different in nature to Silverstone. It will be interesting to explore how our latest upgrades perform in the long-radius, slow-speed corners.

"We have good memories from Hungary last year, with George's first pole position in F1 and a double podium for the Team. This race also marks a decade since Lewis' first win with us, so it's a circuit full of good memories," recalled Wolff.

While Mercedes lie second in the standings after ten rounds, Hamilton is P4 in the 2023 F1 drivers standings, with Russell in P6. Neither driver has won a Grand Prix this year, Russell's first and only win was in Brazil last year. Hamilton has not won since he triumphed at he 2021 Saudi Grand Prix. A ninth victory in Budapest would end his longest win-less streak in F1.

Russell took his maiden F1 pole position for the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix. The next day Mercedes scored a double podium in the race with Lewis taking second, with George third.