“It was nice to see everyone and to feel the enthusiasm around the factory
after the summer break.
“We’re all looking forward to the second half of the season and the
opportunity to bring home some more good results.”
With three successive poles to his name – the first British driver to achieve
the feat since Damon Hill in his title-winning year of 1996 – and with
Mercedes appearing to have cured their previous tyre woes, there is every
prospect of Hamilton scoring back-to-back wins.
Motor sport director Toto Wolff recognises his team will be in the sights of
their rivals after claiming seven of the last eight poles and three of the
last five wins, but there is a natural desire for more.
“Our first half of the season exceeded expectations, but we will continue to
work hard and to improve performances further in the second half,” said
Wolff.
“On paper, Spa is a circuit that should suit our car and Nico (Rosberg) and
Lewis will be at their best on a real driver’s circuit.
“We have a strong all-round package at the moment and good momentum after our
win in Hungary.
“However, everybody will bring a special low-drag package for this circuit so
we won’t know who has found the best compromise before we start running on
Friday.
“We cannot take anything for granted in terms of performance and Spa is always
a demanding circuit for reliability.
“The key will be to do our homework well in practice in order to achieve a
strong race result for the team.”
With nine grands prix spread across the world and crammed into 14 weekends,
the second half of the campaign is obviously hectic and exhausting.
That puts a lot of strain on the organisation, but team principal Ross Brawn
feels a strong start has been made in their preparations as they seek to
emulate their feats from the first 10 races.
“After a well-deserved summer break, the factory has been a hive of activity
this week as we prepare for the Belgian Grand Prix and the start of the
second half of the Formula One season,” said Brawn.
“There has been a lot of work to achieve in a very short time to make sure we
are ready for the weekend and everyone has been working hard.
“Both Nico and Lewis have been in the factory with us this week to start our
preparations on the simulator and both are raring to get back into the car
again.
“We finished the first half of the season on a high, and will be aiming for an
equally strong second half.”
(Edited by Ben Bloom)