Mercedes has been waiting a long time this season to clinch their first victory. On the contrary, their arch-rivals Red Bull have won all eight races so far. It is primarily because of the Austrian team’s superior RB19 car. But Mercedes is gradually gaining momentum. When the season started, Aston Martin and Ferrari were both ahead of Mercedes. But progressively, the latter reached second place in the constructor’s championship.
Hence, at this point, the primary focus of the former champions is to hold on to the runners up position. Both Ferrari and Aston Martin have chances to go ahead of Mercedes in the constructor’s title standings. But the Silver Arrows is focusing on beating the other two challengers to hold on to second place. However, they are trying to close the gap with the current table toppers as well. Moreover, engineers back in Brackley feel like they are an upgrade away from getting their first victory this year.
W14’s Stability And Predictability Are Good Signs For Hamilton And Russell
The good news for the Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, is that the W14 car is now more predictable and gaining more stability in the brakes. That is the secret behind the renewal of the confidence of Mercedes drivers. Currently, the team can gain the most in terms of top speed and how the car performs depending on its Drag Reduction System (DRS). But Hamilton has been encouraging his team to work on the low-speed corners. They need more pace around those corners.
Moreover, the cockpit position and the rear end are still not as good as Red Bull. The team has struggled with their car since last year. However, the Monaco upgrades this season have given the former champions an idea of the right direction. The Brackley team performed really well in Barcelona, Spain. They enjoyed getting their first double podium this season. Later in Montreal, Canada, Lewis Hamilton got his third podium of the season. Hence, the upgrades are working well for the team.
Mercedes Engineer Believes They Are An Upgrade Away From A Victory
Most importantly, the two drivers better understand the car after the Monaco upgrades. Previously, after the first two races of the season, Lewis Hamilton was very unhappy with the car, especially its rear downforce and seat position. But in the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton mentioned, “The car feels good even though it is not the ideal track to test upgrades.” Since then, the car looks like improving every race. Even in Canada, where the team did not expect the car to do well, it helped Hamilton get to the P3 finish.
Hence, the confidence in the Brackley camp is boosting at a steady rate. Moreover, an engineer mentioned via AMuS, “The team is an upgrade away from getting the first taste of victory.” The Mercedes boss extended to the subject, saying that the change in the concept of the W14 car was essential. The more the team understands the correlation between the simulation and the racetrack, the more performance they can expect to extract from the car. That is what the Mercedes F1 team is looking to work on.