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Both Mercedes - Petronas drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are set to get a major boost as the German team is reportedly on course to bring on a major power unit upgrade after the summer break. Specifically, Mercedes is set to introduce their “Phase Three” power unit at the Belgian Grand Prix in late August.
This will include upgraded hybrid components, which should bring the Mercedes power unit closer to being on par with the Ferrari and Honda packages. The Silver Arrows have already made an in-season improvement to their power unit this year, with the introduction of their “Phase Two” package.
Mercedes have been needing these upgrades throughout the season as their team principal Toto Wolff believes that they are still a few tenths of pace behind the tops in Ferrari and Red Bull.“We’re still missing two or three tenths in terms of performance,” he said. “We would really like to be there in the fight that Ferrari and Red Bull are having at the front.”
Similarly, seven-time champions Lewis Hamilton also demanded major updates on his car as he had a very poor start to the season. Especially during the Candian Grand Prix, he called the car a ‘disaster’. While speaking to Sky Sports F1, the British driver said, "For me, it's been a disaster, the car is getting worse.”
“I'm more and more unhappy when I get in it, we're working hard, but it is what it is. It's this year's car, we have to deal with it, try our best and make a better car next year," he proclaimed. "The car is very bad."
Hamilton then addressed how the team was trying different setups with him and George Russell since the start of the season. But the configuration of his car hasn’t provided any positive results. The British driver said, "We tried different things, an experimental floor on my side of the garage that didn't work. Nothing we tried on this car seems to work. George [Russell] and I are trying different set-ups, which one day seem to go well and the next day it's the opposite."
