Chief Race Engineer Mercedes: "Pole doesn't matter if you don't have race pace"

Mercedes can look back with satisfaction on another dominant qualifying session, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas on the first row of the grid. Andrew Shovlin, the Chief Race Engineer of Mercedes, is however waiting with his celebrations.

When it comes to qualifying, Mercedes is untouchable. During qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix Max Verstappen couldn't even get close to the team's black arrows.

After a relatively bad race on the Silverstone circuit, at Mercedes they are however cautious about assuming victory. "Although it is nice to have both cars on the first row of the grid, the last race is a clear reminder that the points will be handed out on Sunday. It doesn't matter how far you are on pole position, if you don't have a race pace you will have a tough afternoon", Andrew Shovlin said in the team review of Mercedes.

Difficult to maintain the right temperature

According to the top man it's neck to neck when it comes to the race pace of Mercedes and Verstappen. "We've collected a lot of good data on Friday and when I see it like that, we're pretty much the same as Max on the long runs. The drivers were both happy with the balance of the car on the long runs, but it's still difficult to keep the temperature of the tyres in the right window, with the track temperature around 50 degrees".

"We are not under the illusion that tomorrow will be a long and hot race, but we will work hard tonight to have the strategy plans ready and understand how to get the most out of the tyres so that we can put ourselves in the best position to turn today's front row lockout into a strong result", concludes Shovlin.