Mercedes looking for certainties: 'That's going to give us confidence'

Mercedes' season is not yet going as previously hoped. The German team are only fourth in the constructors' standings and are still waiting for their first podium of the season. In Japan next weekend, another challenge awaits George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The former has been in the simulator in recent days, trying to find the right set-up for Suzuka, with fast corners and slow hairpins.

According to James Allison, Mercedes' technical director, several aspects have been addressed: "The tyre temperature issue, the high to low-speed balance and all the activities between now and then will be to try to work out in the simulator, and see what we can do in simulation to influence those things. George was working hard in Sim early this week trying to help us along that path and then when we have a clear manifesto for what we want to do," Allison said.

Allison seeks certainty with Mercedes

Allison hopes to arrive in Japan well-prepared with his team. "So that'll be the main thrust of what we're doing, to try and make sure that we really seize the opportunity of this couple of weeks before Suzuka, to make sure we're on the right track in terms of seeing Suzuka pick up a little bit and then that will give us more confidence when we head to China, which is a sprint race and where the amount of time available at the track is that much lower still."

Ultimately, Mercedes hopes to reverse the negative spiral. "Where you want to have a bit of certainty under you that you were on the right track that the
things we've been working on have been sort of nudging us in the right direction and then that  just gives you more confidence to push harder down that path in the following events," Mercedes' technical director concluded.