Mercedes: 'Recent updates have done their job'

Mercedes usually do well at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and this was the case in 2023, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished P2 and P3, respectively, in a much-improved performance for the German team. According to Andrew Shovlin, the recent updates have done their job.

Mercedes' technical chief expressed these thoughts in a team press statement. In Monaco, the W14 underwent a radical visual change, with the Mercedes car now having sizeable sidepods. Shovlin can confirm that the updates have provided actual improvements.

Verstappen still out of reach

Shovlin: "It's great to see the cars on the podium again. It's been a while! We are happy with the result, but we are even more pleased to see the progress of the car. The team has been working full throttle since the tests in Bahrain to make improvements. It's nice to see that the recent updates have brought us better performance."

The 'Trackside Engineer' knows that the results in Spain may give a somewhat distorted picture, as the track suits the car very well. Shovlin: "So we are realistic about our chances in Montreal. At least we seem to be going in the right direction, and that is the most important thing. Max is out of our reach, but we had fun, and we are looking forward to the upcoming races."