Mercedes may have delivered their most convincing performance of the season in Montreal, but team principal Toto Wolff has urged caution, warning that the squad’s form at the Canadian Grand Prix does not guarantee similar success elsewhere on the Formula 1 calendar.
George Russell claimed victory at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve after a commanding weekend that saw him secure pole position and manage tyre wear impressively during the race, holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who scored his first podium in F1.
But Wolff made it clear that the result was shaped as much by the nature of the circuit as it was by car improvements.
Layout-Specific Strengths and Smart Upgrades
“We had 50 degrees of track temperature, and we've been dominant,” Wolff said after the race, quoted by Motorsport.com.
“We've had some things changing on the car. We have a new rear suspension. I'm really happy how the team has managed that, but I guess you need to look at the track layout.”
Over the years, Montreal has long been a favourable hunting ground for Mercedes, and Wolff pointed out why.
“Montreal was always good to us. It lacks the typical high-speed corners where we suffer more in the heat. That's one. And number two is quite a smooth asphalt here, which is less abrasive and therefore less damaging to our car, that suffers from rear tyre degradation and overheating.”
©Mercedes
The team reintroduced a new rear suspension geometry first trialled in Imola – after removing it for Monaco and Spain due to correlation issues – and the early signs suggest it played a role in Mercedes’ improved tyre management and overall competitiveness.
“We brought the new rear geometry for that particular problem that we had, the rear surface overheating,” Wolff explained.
“We weren't quite sure about the results in Imola, because they were worse than we expected. And then taking it off, I think was the right thing to do, and bringing it here because hopefully the development direction is correct.
“But in these kinds of regulations, you never know whether you land development or not. Correlation has been difficult, particularly for us, but for many other teams.
“There's never one magic solution that turns the car from a podium car to a dominant winner. But the more datasets we have, the more we learn.”
Austria and Beyond: “Never Confident”
Despite the breakthrough win, Wolff emphasized that Mercedes is “under no illusions” about where the W15 stands on most circuits.
“Never confident,” he said when asked if the team now expects to contend regularly.
“Because the swings in performance are still there. We've seen it last year that on some tracks it wasn't even close to who was second, but we dominated throughout the weekend. And that's a little bit the pattern we have seen here. And Austria is going to be a different ball game, different track layout, different challenges.
“We expected a bit more tyre overheating considering the track temperature, but we're under no illusions that this really suited the strengths of our car the same way as it did last year.
“But for the majority of the circuits, we know it's a bit of a challenge, and that's why this is the first weekend both of us are on the podium. But it's great to see that when we get that chance, we take it.”
Wolff’s message is clear: while Montreal’s layout played to Mercedes’ strengths, consistent success will depend on adapting to the more varied challenges of the calendar.
And with races like Austria on the horizon, the team is preparing for more performance swings as they continue chasing front-running form.
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