Mercedes determined to put on 'a great show' for Silverstone missing fans

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff says the Brackley squad will be missing its fans at its home races at Silverstone, but every effort will be made to "put on a great show" for those watching from afar.

The coronavirus pandemic means that empty grandstands are the norm this season for Formula 1's events and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Given the restrictions and COVID-19 safety measures, local and global, currently imposed on citizens all over Europe, merely managing to kick its season in gear has been quite an achievement for F1.

But the fans, consigned to their home during these unfortunate times, still deserve to be offered the best possible spectacle on the track insists Wolff.

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"We consider ourselves very fortunate to go racing in the current situation, but we will also miss our fans in Silverstone," said the Austrian ahead of this week's British Grand Prix.

"We know that they will be rooting for us from home though, so we're determined to show our gratitude for their support by putting on a great show for them.

"These are the fastest F1 cars ever built and they have broken the track records at both Spielberg and Budapest.

"It will be thrilling to see them on the iconic Silverstone circuit, racing through some of the most demanding corners of the season and being stretched to their limits."

Undefeated in Austria and Hungary, Mercedes is expected to lead the charge around a track that should suit the chassis and engine qualities of the team's W11 Black Arrow.

But as usual, Wolff invokes the usual disclaimers, cautioning against an excess of optimism and highlighting how things can change on a dime in F1, although they rarely do for Mercedes.

"We've had a good start to the season: we resolved the issues that troubled us on the first weekend, won three out of three races and scored a good amount of points," he said.

"But the first three races have also highlighted another crucial factor: the importance of reliability in this shortened season.

"We're one of only two teams that have finished all races with both cars this year and we know how quickly a DNF can make a lead in the points disappear.

"It's a good reminder to us all that we have to stay vigilant and that even the smallest mistake can cost us many points."

And just to be complete, Wolff reminds us once again that past performances are not indicative of future results.

"We're looking forward to two races in Silverstone, a track which is just down the road from our factories and feels like home to us," he added.

"We enjoyed very good results at the British Grand Prix in recent years, but we all know Babe Ruth's famous quote: 'Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games'.

"There's no entitlement to a good result because you had a strong showing in the past, on the contrary: a successful race will always be the result of the hard work of every single team member and we will have to bring our A-game to stay ahead of our competitors."

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