Lewis Hamilton comments on Mercedes’ pace post-FP sessions at Silverstone - “Not as quick as the McLarens”

Lewis Hamilton was far from impressed with Mercedes' pace during FP1 and FP2 at Silverstone on Friday. Keeping Red Bull aside, the seven-time world champion seemed upset that the W15 was nowhere near the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Formula 1 is in the United Kingdom for the 12th round of this season. As the sport arrived in its last race weekend of the triple header, it did not bring anything fancy for the Silver Arrows and its fans. Despite this being Hamilton and his teammate George Russell's home race, their trajectory from Friday seemed nowhere close to the teams up front.

The Silverstone circuit seems to be Hamilton's favorite circuit as the Briton is the most successful driver here. He holds the record for most pole positions, most podiums and eight British Grand Prix wins to his name. Despite knowing this circuit so well, he failed to compete with the likes of Red Bulls and McLarens.

“It generally felt good just not as fast as the guys ahead. Like the McLarens (their nearest rival)," said Hamilton in the post-practice sessions interview. “We don’t have upgrades this weekend. We have some small tweaks to things but not necessarily upgrades."

"But every time we add something to the car we are going in the right direction but the others bring upgrades at the same time, so. We were six and a half tenths in that one [FP2]. I don’t know if it’s truly, exactly six tenths but we got some work to do," Hamilton concluded.

Mercedes are currently in P4 in the Constructors' Championship with 196 points. They trail P2 Ferrari and P3 McLaren by 95, and 73 points, respectively. Red Bull continues to lead with 355 points after 11 race weekends.

Drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton occupy P7 and P8 of the Drivers' Championship. Russell, after his recent Austrian GP victory extended his lead over his veteran compatriot by 26 points.

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How did Lewis Hamilton and Co. perform in FP1 and FP2?

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W15 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 05, 2024 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Mercedes had a formidable outing on Friday as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell tried different set-ups to their W15 before the business side of things start on Saturday.

George Russell was the fastest Mercedes driver in FP1 after he clocked 1:27.728 (P5) on the timesheet. Compared to him, Lewis Hamilton could only manage 1:27.858 (P7). While Lando Norris finished in P1 with 1:27:420 on board.

In FP2, Hamilton set 1:27:202 on the timesheet to stand P6. His younger teammate Russell clocked 1:27.294 (P10). Norris took P1 with 1:26.549 in this session as well.