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‘Encouraging and Exciting to See Progress’: Lewis and George Preview Imola

The Formula One paddock has arrived in Imola for the first European race of the 2024 season.

After the first quarter of the campaign saw the team head to the Middle East, Australia, and Asia, there is renewed excitement in the air with this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on the horizon.

Last time out saw the team bring the first round of upgrades to Miami, with more planned to arrive on W15 in a busy few weeks.

This weekend starts a run of six races in eight weeks, and both Lewis and George have been impressed with the efforts of those back at the Brackley and Brixworth factories to bring the developments to the car.

Lewis said: “The energy in the team is amazing. They are so resilient, even though they have been knocked down several times they continue to keep pushing.

“There is a long way to go, but I am excited for the developments that are coming. It is always a fun process to try out different things to see what works and what does not.

“We had a step at the last race, a step at this race, and more to come in the pipeline.”

George added: “It’s been impressive to see how the team have come together, putting in so many hours to bring the developments and make the car quicker.

“The morale or motivation has not dipped at all. Everyone is motivated to bring us back to the top.”

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While the attitude of those at the factory has left an impact on our drivers, so too has the comfort of knowing that the progress of W15 itself is heading in the right direction, even if the solution may not be an instant one.

Lewis said: “We have found more of a North Star in terms of what we need to do, it just takes time.

“All we can do is make the most out of what we have in front of us, it is a patience game.

“The fact we do have a direction forwards means we are testing things on the simulator, and that leaves you itching to get those bits [on the car].

“We need all hands on deck and we have that already.”

George added: “It is clear the direction we need to head, but that platform to develop is what keeps people motivated.

“We have a clear direction. We overstepped the changes we made with this car, we now just need to reign it back in and find that happy medium.

“We need to find that step that will bring us into that fight with the guys at the front.”

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It is clear the direction we need to head, but that platform to develop is what keeps people motivated.

George

That journey will start this weekend at Imola, and a return to the usual race weekend format after two Sprint weekends will help us achieve that.

George said: “The return to this format has come at a good time. When you are trying to get on top of your car and test things, only having one practice session has put us on the back foot a little bit.

“We are excited to get back to a standard weekend.”

While the team’s start to the season has been more challenging than we hoped for, there has been much to celebrate for our friends at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, with three podiums so far in 2024, including Lando Norris’ triumph in Miami two weeks ago.

Lewis said: “The engine is great, and the team [at Brixworth] continue to do an amazing job in terms of developing that technology.

“In terms of the hybrid era we have been right at the top in terms of development rate.

“We are working as hard as we can to rectify the other areas of the car. We will keep our heads down, stay focused and do the best possible job.”

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