Over the last few weeks, Mercedes has been enjoying an upward trajectory in performance, which was particularly evident at the Spanish GP. Lewis Hamilton ended his misery in Barcelona by getting his first podium of the season in the form of a P3 finish. Riding high on positive results now, Mercedes has plans to bring more upgrades to its cars moving forward.
Via Mercedes’ official YouTube channel, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin spoke about these upcoming upgrades. “We’ve been working on recently, just aerodynamic development, mechanical developments, and those are coming through in the next few races.”
However, Shovlin did not reveal when Mercedes will bring these upgrades. It is possible that they bring them to Austria next weekend, or to the final race of the triple-header in Silverstone the week after; maybe even beyond that. But Mercedes doesn’t want its rivals to be prepared beforehand.
James Allison diz que o GP do Canadá “poderia ter sido uma vitória”.
Ele conta que é muito bom ver não apenas a pole, mas que “foi o primeiro fim de semana que a equipe foi competitiva”.
Allison afirma que o carro entrega “mais performance, é mais previsível e amigável com os… pic.twitter.com/iXWjx15GB6
— Mercedes-AMG F1 Brasil (@MercedesAMGF1BR) June 12, 2024
With the upcoming upgrades, Shovlin predicts that the gap to the front will go down further. He also feels that the rival teams will be more motivated to step up their game, making for an enjoyable season for the fans. In this quest, Austria will be the first hurdle and Shovlin remains cautious of things to come.
Mercedes heading to Austria with a calculated approach
Ahead of the Austrian GP weekend in Spielberg, Shovlin reveals that Mercedes will opt for a measured approach, given it is a Sprint weekend. Taking risks could hence, prove to be costly for the German stable.
BACK ON THE PODIUM Lewis brings it home in P3 at the Spanish GP. pic.twitter.com/vVu2bOE6aW
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 23, 2024
The area they want to focus on is fine-tuning the setups of their cars. Lately, they have brought a smile to the team’s faces, and with there being only an hour’s running of Practice to prepare for the Sprint, the Brackley-based team will have to be at its best to replicate recent success.
Austria, however, is a tricky circuit. There is an air of caution blowing within the Mercedes team amidst all the positivity, which is why they don’t want to lose momentum and are already excited about the second race in this triple header.