Silverstone: Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes would be well advised to ignore all previous form and a pile of encouraging statistics as they bid to bounce back at their home British Grand Prix Sunday.
After the debacle of their double retirement at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, where they were previously unbeaten in four years, and Hamilton’s travails in Canada, where he was a clear pre-race favourite, the Mercedes team has lost its near-metronomic consistency.
Forecasts of their continuing supremacy on tracks where they have always seemed invincible are no longer as trustworthy as they have been.
Max Verstappen’s victory in Austria, his first this year, rewarded Red Bull’s opportunism, but his Milton Keynes-based team and Ferrari may face a struggle to match a resurgent Hamilton, reliability permitting, in front of his own fans.
When you get knocked down, to the ground, you can either stay on the floor or get back up and fight even harder. I am ready to fight
Lewis Hamilton
The 33-year-old Englishman will be hunting a record fifth consecutive British triumph here, and his sixth overall, to regain the lead in the title race from fellow four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, who is a point ahead of the Briton in the drivers’ championship.
Much, however, will depend on the extent of the damage inflicted on the champions’ confidence after their worst result since re-entering F1 in 2010.
“We tried to show the right character in defeat,” said team chief Toto Wolff. “We took full responsibility for our mistakes, which takes guts, and we will now analyse them and come back stronger from that learning.
“We come here on the back of the worst weekend we’ve had in a very long time. We are determined to put up a hard fight on home turf and come back with a strong result,” he added.