F1: Hamilton hopes for progress by Silverstone

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton is hoping Mercedes finally makes clear progress with its 2022 car concept by next month’s British GP.

“I hope by the time we get to Silverstone we will have the car as we want it – to be able to fight with Ferrari and Red Bull,” said the seven time world champion.

However, top Mercedes engineer Andy Shovlin is not expecting this weekend’s race at Baku to be much better for the team than was Monaco, where Hamilton complained bitterly about the bumps.

“I’m looking forward to it going away – just my teeth, my jaw moving all the time,” Hamilton said at Monaco.

But Shovlin warned: “Baku could present some similar challenges to Monaco for us.”

Silverstone could also be troublesome for Mercedes, especially as Hamilton slammed the re-laid surface at the British GP layout last year as the “bumpiest track I’ve ever experienced”.

Indeed, the circuit is so bumpy that Silverstone is actually suing the contractors responsible for the resurfacing.

The High Court papers quote track bosses of complaining about “microbumps” that cause serious vibrations for racing cars.

Former F1 driver Marc Surer said Mercedes is forced to deal with the bumping phenomenon by running the 2022 car with incredibly stiff suspension settings.

“They obviously got that under control to some extent,” he told formel1.de. “But now, of course, they’re losing with this tough setup in the corners.

“I can’t imagine that the Mercedes will do great at Baku.”