It would also hand him a crucial psychological edge over the reigning champion heading into Formula One’s annual summer break.
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On race day, however, he has largely trailed Wehrlein and has failed to score any points to date, while the German finished tenth in Austria.
In 2014 only 50,000 fans headed to the circuit to see home favourite Nico Rosberg claim the victory, which is less than half the numbers that pack out the Silverstone GP.
Hamilton said: “It’s been a very chilled Friday”.
Speaking at the drivers’ media conference, Haryanto said: “It was a little bit uncomfortable [since Hungary] but I am very pleased to be back here at the Hockenheimring and everything is fine now to go racing”.
As the title race heats up, another topic which will be on the agenda this weekend is the Halo.
Radio communications, which had been severely restricted and resulted in penalties for leading drivers, were relaxed this week following a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group. Haryanto said in the Thursday press conference, “Of course there are certain obligations that we need to fulfil”.
Hamilton has also vowed to raise the topic of yellow flags in the drivers’ briefing on Friday.
Hamilton, who was on provisional pole at the time and abandoned his final attempt at seizing the top spot, contacted Whiting after the session. “Obviously in Barcelona [when Hamilton and Rosberg collided] that opened an opportunity for everyone – these sort of things can still happen, although it would be nicer if we could beat them on track”. The German was investigated by stewards but was cleared after they deemed he had slowed down enough. Hamilton is keen to seek clarity on the rule.
Ferrari were expected to take the challenge to Mercedes in 2016, but their campaign has been blighted by inconsistency and issues with reliability.
Just 92 points covers the top six drivers, while only one point separates Red Bull and Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. The performance of the SF16-H has been underwhelming of late, and the departure of highly-rated Technical Director James Allison has left a gaping hole in the Scuderia’s future ambitions.
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As previously reported the Indonesian’s deal was only for the first 11 races of the season, due to commercial considerations. He said it would create chaos and decided instead to enforce limits at Turn One with an electronic sensor and penalties for those who contravened the limit three times.
