Mercedes happy with updates but feel less confident for Barcelona

Mercedes moves forward

Mercedes has made clear leaps forward in recent races. For instance, the team has secured all the fastest laps since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. Mercedes has had a new front wing on the car since the Canadian Grand Prix. This front wing was already used during the Monaco race on George Russell's car, but in Canada, the update was introduced for the first time on both cars.

"It delivered more performance," James Allison, technical director at Mercedes, said in their debrief after the Canadian Grand Prix. "It made the car feel easy to drive, well-balanced, and made the car the driver’s friend rather than the thing they had been fighting, which has been what has been problematic in the opening part of the season for us."

But despite the marked performance improvement, Allison does not expect Mercedes to be fighting for a front-row spot in Barcelona. "I think it more likely that we will be competitive, but not right at the front," Allison says. "The next tracks are a little bit of a sterner test of a car. Hot asphalt, wider cornering speeds." Allison, however, does know what is expected of the team. "Our challenge is just to keep those upgrades arriving at a pace that the others cannot keep up with. In doing that, just bullying our car to the front."