“It’s so nice that both drivers were back on the podium after a short break,” said Andrew Shovlin from Mercedes after the Spanish Grand Prix. In Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second and third.
It was the first time in more than six months that Mercedes brought both drivers onto the Formula 1 podium again. This was most recently achieved at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November 2022. But was Barcelona the big breakthrough for Mercedes?
Shovlin, head of the operations team at the racetrack, remains skeptical and explains that the next racetrack in Canada is “a completely different track” than Barcelona and the result could therefore be different than in Spain.
“There are [in Montreal] more slow corners, a lot of flat-out straights, and we expect a bigger challenge there,” reveals Shovlin, clarifying: “We don’t think we’re going to stick to Red Bull’s heels.”
“We are preparing for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin and maybe even Alpine,” he emphasizes and explains: “We will definitely fight for every bit of performance, because the way the grid is now, you can either be on P2 or stand P10.”
What part did the update play in Barcelona?
Even “a few tenths” could make a big difference. Most recently in Barcelona, Mercedes was at the front end of the large Red Bull chasing field. “Ultimately we had really good balance and really good race pace,” said Shovlin.
But was that due to the major update for the W14 that was introduced in Monaco, or did the track just suit Mercedes in general? “Probably both apply. The fact is that the update package works very well at circuits like Barcelona,” explains Shovlin.
However, he assumes that the performance in Barcelona would have been “okay” even without the update, “because on fast circuits and those that are limited by the front [auch vorher schon] were better,” he emphasizes.
It therefore remains to be seen whether Mercedes can repeat the performance from Barcelona in Canada. Last year they took third and fourth place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and traditionally the track has always been a good fit for Mercedes.
For example, between 2015 and 2019, Hamilton won four out of five races in Montreal. This year, however, one would probably be satisfied with being Red Bull’s first pursuer again.