Mercedes are optimistic that the team has managed to learn from the reliability issues that have sidelined both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at different points this season, ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

Both Antonelli and Russell have suffered one retirement each so far this season due to electrical battery-related issues, while the Briton was also hampered by an additional problem during qualifying in China that partially compromised his weekend.S

Speaking on the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, technical director James Allison explained that, while stressing that the failures were not all identical, they originated from the same general area of the battery system.

Allison also explained that when a failure of that nature occurs, teams tend to adopt a more cautious approach until the root cause has been fully understood. As a result, Mercedes initially chose to be slightly more conservative with the affected components, reducing the stress placed on the equipment in order to add an extra margin of reliability while investigations were ongoing.

Max Verstappen's future at Red Bull is still a big talking point heading into the Austrian Grand Prix, and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has warned that Red Bull is declining and suggested the team might not have reached rock bottom yet.

After taking his first podium of the season in Montreal, Verstappen has seen his team's progress stall once again, and was some way off the pace during the Barcelona Grand Prix last week

Speaking on the Sky F1 Show podcast, Villeneuve argued that Red Bull must do everything possible to keep Verstappen, describing him as the team's biggest asset. The 1997 world champion also pointed to the growing political tensions within the organisation, claiming internal power struggles and a series of high-profile departures have damaged the team's stability.

Villeneuve went on to argue that Red Bull is no longer the team it once was, claiming it has lost much of the identity and strength that made it so successful. The Canadian pointed out that many of the key figures who helped build the team's foundations have now departed, leaving Verstappen as the last remaining pillar of an organisation that has undergone significant change.