Breaking news
Formula 1
Mercedes says there are still "question marks" about car
Mercedes says there are still "question marks" that remain about the performance of its W08, despite a dominant 1-2 finish in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jun 15, 2017, 3:07 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
After a mammoth effort at its Brackley factory in the days after Monaco helped it unlock a better set-up path with its 2017 F1 car for Montreal, Lewis Hamilton produced his best performance of the year to take pole position and victory.
The result delivered a blow to Ferrari's title ambitions, moving Mercedes back ahead in the constructors' championship and slashing Sebastian Vettel's advantage in the drivers' standings to 12 points.
But Mercedes is not taking for granted that it has solved all its problems yet, and claims there were moments over the weekend that have left it convinced it needs to do much more work.
In particular, it believes the fact that Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas felt such different grip levels in qualifying shows that it does not yet have all the answers.
Motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: "Although they had really similar set-ups, Lewis's grip level was increasing through the qualifying sessions, and Valtteri's were decreasing. And for no obvious reasons to us.
"These are the little question marks that remain and we have to get on top of it."
Mercedes acknowledges that the next race in Baku could be a tough one for it, with the tight and twisty street section not ideal for its long-wheelbase car.
Wolff said though that Mercedes would look intensely at how it managed to get things right in Montreal, which will hopefully allow it to take the fight to Ferrari again in Azerbaijan.
"It will be another challenging situation," he said. "Last year it was a difficult race, completely different, and at the moment we need to stay race-by-race, stay in the same calm mode we are and collect points.
"There will be good weekends and very good weekends, and there will be the odd bad weekend. We had it in Monte Carlo and Ferrari had it Canada. It is just about limiting those."
He added: "The more data you collect, the more you understand. We have seen it in last year, we grew stronger every year and this is not an instinct business, this is a scientific business. I think every mile we drive is going to make us perform better, and hopefully good enough to compete for the championship."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Driver experience key to Toro Rosso challenge
Next article Force India threat is "circuit specific" - Red Bull
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Mercedes
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
4 h
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
8 h
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Latest news
Lin Hodenius, James Roe partner for Lone Star Racing’s full-time IMSA GTD campaign for 2027
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 19 min
Lin Hodenius, James Roe partner for Lone Star Racing’s full-time IMSA GTD campaign for 2027
Matt Crafton to make surprise NASCAR Truck return this weekend at Homestead
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
51 min
Matt Crafton to make surprise NASCAR Truck return this weekend at Homestead
Francesco Bagnaia counting down days until end of Ducati MotoGP tenure
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Francesco Bagnaia counting down days until end of Ducati MotoGP tenure
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe