Mercedes does not expect to be “at the forefront” of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, according to the team's technical director James Allison.
The Silver Arrows had their best weekend of the season last year in Canada. George Russell took the team's first podium with a third-place finish, while Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag in fourth.
The significant performance boost allowed Mercedes to leapfrog the trio of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren who had been competing exclusively for wins before Canada.
Mercedes' progress comes after several upgrades to the W15 and more upgrades are planned for Barcelona, but Allison believes the track and conditions will not be suitable for the car.
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Mistakes that cost George Russell victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, including contact with Oscar Piastri.
“The changes we’ve made are making this a better car,” Allison said. “And that will be true at every circuit we go to.
“The nature of Montreal makes us look a little faster than we have a natural right to command in the upcoming race.
“I think the competition is more likely to be strong in Barcelona, but not at the front, because the next track is a more rigorous test for the car: hot asphalt, wider cornering speeds.”
Despite caution about Mercedes' chances this weekend, Allison is optimistic the team can continue to close the gap on its rivals.
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Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Damon Hill believes Mercedes should do more to support George Russell.
“But I also know what we have in store,” he added. “I also know what we plan to do to further improve the car.
“Our challenge is to continue upgrading at a pace that other companies cannot keep up with.
“By doing that, we're pushing our car to the front thanks to the hard work everyone here has put in over the coming weeks and months to get the car. The car will have a better time at the Montreal weekend or whatever track we face in the future. can. .”
Mercedes debuted a new front wing at the Monaco race before Canada, but only one version of the part was available at the time, which Russell ran.
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On the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Naomi Schiff analyzes Lewis Hamilton's comments describing Canada as 'one of the worst races he's ever driven' and whether he is going through a 'divorce' with the team.
The unique nature of the famous street circuit made it difficult to assess the impact of the upgrades, but the front wing appeared to be a huge success when Hamilton was able to run it in Canada as well.
When asked whether the parts performed as Mercedes expected, Allison said: “I would say yes, I ran this part with George in the previous Monaco race so we got an idea of how it would perform.
“We had two in Montreal and we expected them to perform well. We expected them to offer a little more in Canada than in Monaco, because the Canadian circuit, although unusual, is a more common circuit than Monaco. no see. .
“It gave us more performance, made the car easier to drive, better balanced and made the car the driver's friend rather than something they were fighting for, which had been a problem for us at the beginning of the season.”
Wolff: Barcelona is a good test for our development
In Mercedes' official Spanish Grand Prix preview, team principal Toto Wolff expressed similar expectations for Allison.
He said: “We have continued to make incremental gains over the last few races, so it was encouraging to take another positive step in Canada and to see this translate into our strongest team result of the season so far. It is a reward for everyone's efforts.
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Mercedes' George Russell, who set the same time, lifted Max Verstappen to pole position in Canada after completing a lap first.
“But the Gilles Villeneuve circuit is a unique track: it has a narrow corner speed range and is newly resurfaced, which makes it unique compared to the existing venue.
“We know our competitors will deliver even stronger performances in the upcoming races, so we must continue to work hard to get on the podium and eventually win the race.
“Barcelona will provide a good test of our progress, with a mix of fast, medium and slow corners, long straights and lots of elevation changes.
“Tracks containing such a wide speed range have been our weak point so far this year, so this weekend will provide another opportunity to evaluate our progress with the latest updates and we look forward to building on the positive momentum from Montreal. “I hope to build it.”
Live Spanish GP schedule on Sky Sports F1
Thursday, June 20th
1:30 p.m.: Driver press conference.
Friday, June 21st
7.45am: F1 Academy practice
8:50 AM: F3 practice
10am: F2 practice
12pm: Spanish GP Practice 1 (Session begins at 12:30 PM)
1:55 PM: F3 qualifying
2.50pm: F2 qualifying
3.35pm: Spanish GP Practice 2 (Session starts at 4pm)
5.25pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
6:15 PM: F1 Show
Saturday, June 22nd
9:35 AM: F3 Sprint
11:15 a.m.: Practice 3, GP Romagna, Spain. (Session starts at 11:30 AM)
1:10 PM: F2 Sprint
2.10pm: Preparing for Spanish GP qualifying
3pm: Spanish GP qualifying
5pm: F1 Academy Race 1
Sunday, June 23
7.45am: F1 Academy Race 2
9am: F3 Feature Race
10:30 AM: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Build-up to the Spanish GP
2 p.m.: Spanish Grand Prix
4pm: Checkered flag: Spanish GP reaction
Formula 1 returns to Europe as the championship moves to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. Watch every session of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from 21st to 23rd June live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. There is no contract and you can cancel at any time.
