Shovlin admits: 'We were absolutely desperate'

Lewis Hamilton won the Silverstone Grand Prix last week, but was criticised afterwards for his accident with Max Verstappen. Despite his 10 second penalty Hamilton took the victory.

Andrew Shovlin admitted in conversation with Motorsport.com that the pressure prior to the race was great. "The thing that was quite frightening when we came here was that we would be looking at ourselves in the mirror for a long time if we didn't perform well. Apart from the situation in the championship and the points at stake, we had to make sure that gap didn't widen."

Hamilton then started the race from second position, while Verstappen was allowed to start at the front. "I think the main thing was just that we were absolutely desperate to see the car perform well and the team perform well. So it's very reassuring that we showed that we are still in the fight for the championship."

Small gap Hamilton on Verstappen

Verstappen's retirement and Hamilton's victory means the Mercedes driver is only eight points behind in the World Championship. The GP of Hungary is the last race before the summer break.