Mercedes plans British GP upgrades amid raised expectations

With the Brackley-based squad feeling it is finally making some progress in unlocking the potential of the W13, the team has scheduled some development for the car for the next race at Silverstone.

But while the smooth nature of the Northamptonshire track could be especially good for the team, its technical director Mike Elliott remains cautious, and is eager to keep expectations in check that it can soon start challenging Red Bull and Ferrari.

Speaking in Mercedes’ regular post-race video analysis after Canada, Elliott said about the team’s British Grand Prix hopes: “One thing you can be sure of is we will push as hard as we can.

“We will be bringing new bits to Silverstone, we will be trying to push the car forward, trying to get some pace from the car we’ve got or from the package we’ve got as well as the new bits we are going to add to it.

“I think at the same time though we have to be honest with ourselves and say that, at the moment, we are just a little bit behind those front runners in Ferrari and Red Bull. And in a normal race I think it is going to be tough.”

Mercedes made a breakthrough in dialling out its porpoising issue with changes introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, it has found that in order to get the best performance from its car it needs to run very low to the ground, which has proved troublesome at bumpy tracks.

But despite feeling that Silverstone should be better than recent races, it does not expect things to be dramatically different.

“I think Silverstone will be a circuit that suits us a little bit better, like Barcelona did, but maybe it will be just a little bit difficult,” added Elliott.

“Whatever happens we will push as hard as we can. Our drivers will push as hard as we can because we want to get back to winning.

“We want to win for the team, we definitely want to win and we want to win for you, the fans, so let’s see what happens.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has shared Elliott’s views on prospects for the British GP, saying that a lot of work remains before the team is back where it wants to be.

“Silverstone was good to us in the past and the circuit is smoother than the last three ones, but it’s not Barcelona,” he said.

“We should manage our own expectations and just really grind away, look at the data and come up with some sensible solutions: not only for Silverstone but going forward as well.”