Mercedes: "Our teams are probably going to be most affacted on a single lap"

Mercedes were comfortable once again at the top of the timesheets during the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix. Both over a single lap and in the long runs there doesn't seem to be a problem for them this weekend. Despite this Andrew Shovlin still sees room for improvement.

"The car seems to be working well here and it feels like we are in a more competitive region with regards to straight-line speed, compared to last weekend in Spa. Most of the day was spent understanding the tyres. There's the usual work to do overnight on the balance, traction is strong at the moment and we have a few places where the front end needs to be better and oththers where the rear is a bit weak."

Qualification still interesting for Mercedes

The big question before the weekend was, of course, whether Mercedes would suffer as a result of the new technical directive banning special engine modes during qualification. So far, this does not seem to be the case at all, but the final answer to this question awaits tomorrow.

"Tomorrow should be interesting, to see where everyone is in terms of power in Qualifying as it's the introduction of the new technical directive, that requires teams to use a single mode. The Mercedes-powered teams are probably going to be the most affected on a single lap, but our overall package has looked pretty good here today so hopefully we won't get any nasty surprises."