Mercedes aims to 'recapture momentum' at Silverstone

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Toto Wolff believes Mercedes will have an opportunity to bounce back and "recapture the momentum" it enjoyed earlier this season after its bruising weekend in Austria.

Mercedes left the Red Bull Ring last Sunday with eleven points, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton concluding their Austrian Grand Prix seventh and eighth in the running order.

It was unarguably a lacklustre performance by the former championship winning outfit, with Wolff admitting to a "bruising day", with a car that was never in the right place.

"We scored a handful of points, but we didn't have the pace for much more," Wolff said in mercedes' British Grand Prix preview.

"The field behind Red Bull is incredibly close and also fluctuating each weekend. Some of this is circuit-specific, and some the upgrade cycle across the grid.

"We fell on the wrong side of this equation in Spielberg, but we've got a chance to bounce back immediately."

Read also: Hamilton 'brushes off' Austrian GP disappointment

After introducing a heavily revised car in Monaco at the end of May, Mercedes will unveil another wave of upgrades at Silverstone. And Wolff is counting on the changes to help his team recover its thrust.

"The Team has been hard at work to analyse and draw learnings from our performance," he added.

"We have taken the result on the chin and will aim to recapture the momentum we had built up across previous races.

"With the next upgrades and experiments coming in Silverstone, there are reasons for optimism.

"Nevertheless, we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We're focused on the job at hand, extracting performance from the car, and will see where we stand this weekend."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.