Mercedes expecting direct rivals to be ‘stronger’ in Montreal

Mercedes deemed itself satisfied with the performance delivered by its upgraded W14 at the Spanish Grand Prix, but team boss Toto Wolff expects his outfit’s rivals to be “stronger” in Montreal.

Mercedes introduced a new front suspension and a heavily revised floor/sidepod package in Monaco, but Barcelona provided a better validation of the changes.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were once again unable to match the pace of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on race day, but the Mercedes duo had a clear upper hand over Ferrari and Aston Martin.

It was a very encouraging performance for the Brackley squad, but Wolff suggests that closing the gap to Red Bull will require a momentous effort.

• Read also: Upgrades 'won't fix Hamilton's cockpit complaints'

“The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone's efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track,” commenting Wolff in Mercedes’ Canadian Grand Prix preview.

“We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from.

But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races.

“The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we're up for the challenge.”

Wolff warns that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve won’t cater to the new-found qualities of Mercedes’ car, but come what may the team will fight to defend its turf in the F1’s Constructors’ standings.

“With its long straights and low-speed corners, it's not a track that we expect to suit our car as well as Barcelona did,” added the Austrian.

“No matter where the true pace of the car is this weekend, we will aim to maximise our result.

“The characteristics of the circuit will also provide further opportunity to learn about the W14 and feed into our development path.”

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