Mercedes hope to find performance gains after “necessary learning” ahead of Baku
"We showed good pace at moments across both weekends but were unable to unlock this consistently."
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff is hopeful his team are able to “unlock” the flashes of performance they’ve shown in recent weeks more “consistently” ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After winning three of the previous four races ahead of the summer break, Mercedes were not in contention right at the front at either Zandvoort or Monza.
Mercedes struggled with the handling of the W15 at the Dutch Grand Prix, citing that they were unsure if their new floor upgrade was working as expected.
While George Russell qualified third at the Italian Grand Prix, a poor start combined with a lack of race pace relative to Ferrari and McLaren meant for a lacklustre weekend overall.
Looking ahead to Baku this weekend, Wolff remains optimistic Mercedes can make the necessary improvements.
“We head to Baku aiming for a better performance than we showed in Zandvoort and Monza,” Wolff said. “Both were difficult races for us. Our relative pace was not as strong as it was prior to the summer break and several of our competitors took a step forward.
“We showed good pace at moments across both weekends but were unable to unlock this consistently.
“We have spent the time since then analysing why this was. We have the opportunity to show we have done the necessary learning and made improvements both for this weekend in Azerbaijan and the following week in Singapore.”
Mercedes sit fourth in the constructors’ championship with eight rounds to go.
They trail Ferrari by 115 points, meaning Mercedes are likely on course for their worst constructors’ finish since 2012.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the campaign, Wolff said: “Both are challenging street circuits. They are bumpy, have many low-speed and 90 degree corners, but also feature plenty of high-speed sections.
“They pose a very different test to the ones we faced in the Netherlands and Italy. The traditional European portion of the season is now behind us. We have eight flyaway races before the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi. We are focused on ending the season as strongly as possible.
“There is plenty of racing left and we will be fighting for every point possible, starting this weekend in Baku.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
