Barcelona, ​​the real test to assess Mercedes' progress

The Barcelona circuit (Spain) has often worked in favor of the German team in recent years. In 2022, George Russell was on the last step of the podium while in 2023, it is Lewis Hamilton who had surpassed his teammate by finishing second, ahead of his compatriot.

During the Canadian Grand Prix, in Montreal, the Silver Arrows took advantage of a renewed form to take pole position, with exactly the same time as Max Verstappen (Red Bull). But the Dutch driver having realized it later, it was George Russell who started at the front.

On the Quebec track, we found a confident George Russell, in agreement with his car: “We have the fastest car in the field and I feel good behind the wheel”, he confided then. And indeed, on Sunday, the two British drivers managed to get into a good position (third and fourth place) compared to the competition. 

After this delightful performance, Toto wolff, senior director of Mercedes, is delighted while remaining lucid for the next Grand Prix, starting with that of Spain this weekend: « We continued to make progress over the last few races. It is therefore encouraging to take a new step forward in Canada. LThe car was very different, but the track is very different from everything else. So this is a special case. So we hope to be able to demonstrate that we have found a real rhythm.” 

Mercedes awaits confirmation of progress 

The Barcelona circuit is the ideal place to test a car of F1 since it features a wide range of corner types and speeds, as well as long straights. Knowing that the Mercedes' weak point today remains their top speed, will the German team manage to climb towards the podium again? 

“Barcelona will be a good test to evaluate our progress. It features a mix of fast, medium and slow corners, a long straight and lots of elevation changes. Tracks that contain this wide variety of speeds have been one of our weak points so far this year. This weekend will therefore be a new opportunity to evaluate our progress thanks to our recent developments, and we hope to continue the momentum of Montreal,” says Toto Wolff. 

It remains to be seen if the Silver Arrows will be able to find the right settings on the car to continue their performances from the last Grand Prix. After the pole position obtained two weeks ago, the next step will be to achieve a victory to end a drought of 20 months without success...

Astrid Verne

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