While Mercedes are excited to be bringing upgrades to Silverstone in just over a week, Damon Hill thinks the team can find ways to close the gap to Red Bull by fine tuning the W12 where possible. Max Verstappen currently leads Lewis Hamilton by 32 points in the Drivers' Championship, while Mercedes trail Red Bull by 44 points in the Constructors' standings. When asked whether the Silver Arrows can improve their performance without relying on upgrades, Hill believes there are ways of doing so. "I think so," Hill stated on the F1 Nation podcast. "Sometimes it is about adapting the car. When you have very fine margins, which you did have at the Red Bull Ring being such a short lap and with so few corners, then tiny differences make a difference. "Driver confidence is a big difference, actually, and that comes from finding the balance. It could be just dialling the driver into the car, and so those fine tuning things are really important. "Don't forget, we got this new, dramatic change to the whole qualifying format at Silverstone. So all things are uncertain at the moment in terms of qualifying." As for the new Spring Qualifying session that is set to debut at Silverstone, Hill is looking forward to seeing the format play out and generate some excitement earlier on in the race weekend. "I think it's a great idea to try something new," Hill added. "I think it's been quite well thought out, I think it will create interest. "I think that you'll be able to come out on the news with new information that will be on a Friday night, which is quite often not the case at the moment with Friday a bit of a damp squib in terms of how it affects race. "Nobody really knows there's nothing definitive, but by Friday night we'll have pole position for tomorrow's race. That will be good for promoting the sport and I think people will tune in. I think it's going to be a very interesting development in Formula 1."
Most read
