Mercedes: 'Could never beat Verstappen, but could have been second'

Mercedes was somewhat disappointed after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole, but was soon fourth. This is also where the Briton would eventually finish. Andrew Shovlin says Mercedes never really believed they could beat Max Verstappen at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton eventually came close to Sergio Perez for the final spot on the podium, but fell just short. "Starting from P1 and not even making the podium is always going to be disappointing. We never believed we had the pace to beat Verstappen, but we could have been second had more gone our way. The opening lap wasn't great for Lewis," Shovlin said in a press release.

George Russell was the victim of the scramble in the final sector at the end of Q1. As a result, the Briton was unable to improve his time and had to start the race 18th. In the end, Russell still finished sixth. "Our expectations with George were to just make it into the points. For him to come sixth is a very good result."

The race for Mercedes certainly did not go smoothly in Hungary. "We were nursing engine temperatures, which cost both cars a lot of race time, as the ambient temperature was slightly higher than expected. We've made small gains to Ferrari and Aston Martin in the Constructors' Championship, which is some consolation. Overall though, we leave here thinking we could have done a much better job as a team," the Mercedes chief concluded.