Wolff confirms Mercedes updates for Austria that also tackle the car's 'Achilles heel'

After six consecutive victories for Mercedes, it was Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari who came out on top in Barcelona last weekend. The Briton claimed his first victory in Ferrari colours and now trails Antonelli by 41 points in the drivers' standings.

Looking ahead to his home weekend in Austria, Mercedes' CEO and team principal, Wolff, said: "Barcelona acted as a benchmark for our current performance and, having won the first six races, offered a reality check. Others have gained ground quickly and we need to respond. We are in a fight for both championships but must improve if we want to come out on top come the end of the season."

Another mechanical issue prevented Antonelli from finishing the race, meaning he missed out on 18 points. Reliability issues have been a recurring problem for the German outfit this season, Wolff acknowledged. "Our Achilles heel so far has been reliability. We have lost a large amount of points across both cars in recent races; if we don’t put together clean weekends, our competitors will happily take advantage.

"We are not standing still in our efforts; we will bring a few updates to Austria this weekend with a focus on improving both performance and reliability. The margins are tight, and will be even tighter around Spielberg given the length of the lap. We need to put together a better weekend than we have in recent races but if we can deliver to our maximum, then we know we can challenge for victory," he concluded.

The Austrian team boss does not want to battle the seven-time world champion for the title, as he knows very well what his former driver is capable of. "I'd rather not fight with him for a title. I'm not fine with him for a title because I know what he's capable of. If he smells blood, he goes. I've seen it many years where suddenly the train, the Lewis Hamilton train, started to go and then it's very difficult to stop it."

Asked whether an eighth world title for Hamilton is now a realistic possibility, Wolff replied: "Yes, absolutely. We are so early in the season. The gap is 41 points. You see a DNF, it robs you of 25 points, and it's wide open. That's why we can't afford not to finish. We need to just keep putting performance on the car and on the power unit, keep not making mistakes, be clever with the strategy, and stay absolutely on it."