Toto Wolff, Team Mercedes Principal, is not letting himself get carried away after what they secured in the Spanish Grand Prix. Looks like he is trying to stay as realistic as possible. Hence, he is not giving any room for optimism at the moment. Wolff believes that Spain was a good result for the team because of the track. But the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix won’t be that easy for the team. The Mercedes engine broke down in Montreal last year. Hence, there is no place for complacency in the Mercedes camp after their first double-podium finish this season in Spain.
In the last race, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was still 24 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who finished at P2. Hence, team Mercedes needs to find a way to close that gap with their new upgrades. However, it is clear that the Mercedes W14 is performing much better after installing the new side pods as well as the floor and front suspension. Driver George Russell also explained that the magic lies on the floor and not on the side pods. However, at present, Mercedes is looking to install more upgrades in the car. But the team boss Toto Wolff is a bit apprehensive about rushing into new upgrades.
Toto Wolff Wants To Understand The Upgrades Before Rushing Into Things
The Mercedes boss claims that they were afraid of rushing into the implementation of the modifications back in Monaco. Other teams, like Ferrari, waited for the Spanish Grand Prix to install their updates. But Mercedes did not want to lose any more time as the plans to test upgrades in Imola, Italy, were canceled. Hence, the team decided to implement it in Monaco, a tough track to test upgrades. But the next Grand Prix in Barcelona was a much more suitable place to test upgrades, and the team was happy with the results. But Toto Wolff says they rushed a little bit to implement the new upgrades.
While talking to Motorsport.com about the upgrades, Toto Wolff mentioned, “It is not about how fast the car is after the upgrades. But how well do we understand the modifications? That’s what was essential from the race in Barcelona.” He added that the team had been worried because they had had to rush the process of testing upgrades for the last two months. But till now, it has paid off. Wolff remembered how they had a great race in Barcelona last year. But everything started to fall apart from thereon. Hence, he wants his teammate not to repeat the same mistake and is not getting his expectations too high.
Mercedes Boss Is Trying To Control His Expectations
Toto Wolff acknowledged that they were unhappy in Spain after the qualifying rounds because they thought P2/P3 was easy to achieve. But they did not get the result according to their expectations. Hence, the Mercedes boss believes that they expect a P2 and P3 finish again, but this time in Montreal. Then it can easily be a fifth and sixth-place finish. He emphasizes the fact that they have more to understand about the upgrades. Moreover, Aston Martin is also going to test new upgrades in Montreal next weekend. Their driver Fernando Alonso is pretty excited about the prospect of the new upgrades. Hence, the two-time champion claimed that the Spanish Grand Prix was the last this season where Aston Martin did not get a podium finish.
