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We’ll Take This Weekend on the Chin

A 'bruising day' Toto called it in the aftermath of the Austrian Grand Prix. Our toughest weekend of the season so far closed with a P7 and P8 finish for George and Lewis in Spielberg.

The cars had originally crossed the finished line the other way around, but Lewis was assessed a 10 second time penalty post-race for track limits infringements. It was a punishment handed out in abundance during and after the Grand Prix up and down the grid by the race stewards.

Friday's qualifying had left both cars with some work to do in the race starting from P5 and P11. The Team was looking forward though, aiming to make progress across the 71 laps. Given our 2023 trend of stronger race pace than over a single lap, that seemed possible.

But that progression didn't materialise in Austria, in a race that saw the incredibly close order behind Red Bull shaken up once again.

"We weren't expecting to be as slow as we were and our performance this weekend was a surprise. We don't have the answer as to why just yet, but this track has highlighted several areas of improvement we need to focus on," said Lewis post-race.

This track has highlighted several areas of improvement we need to focus on

Lewis Hamilton

Despite a strong start from Lewis on race day, jumping Norris into P4, we were unable to hold on to Verstappen and the Ferraris in front. Car balance also proved a challenge for both drivers, with Lewis picking up a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. Serving this at his first pit stop, that dropped him into a race with the Aston Martins.

In contrast to Saturday's Sprint race in changeable conditions, George's midfield start saw him caught in a DRS train in the opening laps on Sunday.

An early Virtual Safety Car for Hulkenberg's stricken Haas led to a flurry of early pitstops. Despite a slightly earlier than planned stop, that didn't alter our Team's pre-race two-stop strategy plans. George was able to use the new tyres to his advantage and make up positions soon after, ending eighth in the final reckoning, nine seconds adrift of Lewis. That was reversed due to post-race penalties, with Lewis having an additional 10 seconds added to his time.

Both drivers were open about the challenges they faced with the W14 in Sunday's Grand Prix. "I was really struggling in certain corners, and I couldn't do anything about it," said Lewis.

"The car was moving around a lot. It certainly doesn't feel how we want it to at the moment," added George.

Sunday's difficult race had come off the back of a frustrating day on Saturday, which saw both drivers come through the field strong in the F1 Sprint to claim a point with George in P8, two positions ahead of Lewis. The Team made a brave strategy call to switch to dry tyres in a damp-dry race, with George capitalising on a late-race switch to the dry Softs to come through the field from last with eight laps to go.

We will take this weekend on the chin and move forward

Toto Wolff

Ultimately, the damage had been done in the earlier shootout qualifying session. A hydraulic problem had left George P15, with Lewis three places further back after encountering traffic and having a lap time deleted in a busy session.

There's no question Austria was one of our most difficult and chastening weekends of the season to date. There's no time to feel sorry for ourselves and neither is that what this Team does. "We will take this weekend on the chin and move forward," Toto commented.

We will aim to bounce back almost immediately as we head to Silverstone and the British Grand Prix this weekend. We will arrive there second in the constructors' championship, albeit with a reduced margin to Aston Martin and Ferrari behind.

I'm sure we'll go away and get to the bottom of our performance here

George Russell

"We have a step of performance that we are bringing to Silverstone. Let's see if that circuit suits the characteristics of the car a little more and we will analyse from there," said Toto.

Everyone at the Team is focused on ensuring we take the lessons from this weekend, and turn them into positive outcomes.

"I'm sure we'll go away and get to the bottom of our performance here," said George.

"Silverstone is a circuit more like Barcelona than Austria, so that bodes well for next week. We're excited."

With incredible support, an eight-time British GP winner and a determined Team ready and raring to go next weekend, we'll certainly be doing everything we can to get back on the right track at the first of the final three races before the summer break.