Can Mercedes surprise Red Bull and Ferrari? We will work hard'

Mercedes is going into the summer break with a very good feeling. The reigning constructors' world champion had to come a long way, but after the Hungarian Grand Prix, it is safe to say that the German team has found its way back to the top. They are not yet as fast as Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, but there is progress.

Andrew Shovlin sees that too. The task at the start of the season was enormous, because it became painfully clear that they had taken Mercedes in the wrong direction. As a result, they couldn't fight for wins unless other teams made mistakes. That happened in abundance and as a result they were always able to fight for the top spots to some extent.

Mercedes back at the top?

Since France, things seem to have really picked up for the team. Four podiums in two races also confirm that feeling, although a win is still missing this season. Shovlin looks back at the F1 Nation Shovlin looks back on the first half of the season and how they feel going into the summer break. "The real confidence is that we are doing the right things, the team is going well, and we are going in the right direction."

"At the start of the year, we got a podium because one or two other cars made a mistake or had a reliability issue." Shovlin acknowledges that they don't need those reliability issues now with other teams, as they have largely closed the gap. "These are signs that we are improving. We had a very difficult start point, but the team has really worked hard to get this back on track."