Mercedes: 'Data from updates looks in line with expectations'

Andrew Shovlin speaks of a solid start for the Mercedes team in the United States. The updates brought in seem to be working well and there is certainly hope for a podium finish based on Friday. According to the British top man, wind and overheating tyres will be the biggest challenges the rest of the weekend.

"We've had a pretty solid day all in all," Shovlin begins to tell in Mercedes' press release after Friday's session at the Circuit of the Americas. The German racing team brought quite a few updates and these were tested in the first free practice session. " We ran the update kit on both cars in the morning and the data from that looks in line with expectations," he said. However, the new front wing brought by Mercedes was declared illegal by the FIA.

The second free practice was entirely dedicated to testing the Pirelli tyres for 2023. Helmut Marko didn't like it, Shovlin calls it "interesting". "We had the tyre test in the afternoon, which was interesting; the cooler blankets are going to change the way you approach qualifying and race strategy and the warm-up was a bit tricky, but the tyres themselves look to be a step in the right direction in terms of consistency and handling."

Mercedes certainly not dissatisfied

Mercedes itself is aiming for a podium finish for George Russell and/or Lewis Hamilton this weekend. "There's fair bit of tyre overheating on the long runs that will be tricky to manage on Sunday, but it seems like everyone is suffering with the same. The wind is set to get stronger over the next two days, which is probably going to be the biggest challenge of the weekend, but we're off to a reasonable start and if we can find a bit of improvement on the balance, we can hopefully be in a position to fight for podiums."