Mercedes are second in the F1 constructors' championship after their double podium in Spain; Toto Wolff and Andrew Shovlin don't expect the same level of performance this weekend in Montreal; watch the Canadian GP from this Friday with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1
Wednesday 14 June 2023 17:14, UK
Mercedes have played down their chances of repeating their Barcelona success at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both finished on the podium behind winner Max Verstappen last time out at the Spanish Grand Prix - Mercedes' best result of the season so far.
The team brought major upgrades to Monaco, including a new suspension and redesigned sidepods that follow Red Bull's philosophy, and the developments seemed to pay off one week later at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Hamilton and Russell finished ahead of both Aston Martin and Ferrari drivers on merit.
"The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone's efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track. We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from," said team principal Toto Wolff.
"But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races. The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we're up for the challenge.
"We now move on to Montreal. With its long straights and low-speed corners, it's not a track that we expect to suit our car as well as Barcelona did.
"No matter where the true pace of the car is this weekend, we will aim to maximise our result. The characteristics of the circuit will also provide further opportunity to learn about the W14 and feed into our development path."
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is almost a complete contrast to the high-speed Barcelona track, which punishes the front tyres.
The 2.710-mile Montreal circuit features multiple chicanes, big braking zones and the surface is bumpy in certain areas. A car which has a strong change of direction and good traction should perform well.
Mercedes' trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the team will "not be nipping at the heels of Red Bull" and will be fighting to be on the podium.
"We've had a few tough races recently and while we brought home a decent amount of points [in Spain], it is so nice to get both of the drivers back on the podium after a bit of a break," he said.
"What do we expect from Montreal? As I said, we are thinking it will be more along the lines of some of the earlier races where we were definitely in the bunch with Ferrari, with Aston, and now Alpine look to have joined that group.
"But it's great racing there. It will be good fun and we are certainly going to be fighting to find every little bit of performance we can because the way the grid stacks up now you can be P2 or you can be P10, and there are only a few tenths in it.
"We are looking forward to more exciting racing but certainly we are aware that Canada is likely to be a bigger challenge than the Sunday we just had in Barcelona."
Friday June 16
6pm: Canadian GP Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm)
7.45pm: The F1 Show
9.45pm: Canadian GP Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)
Saturday June 17
5.15pm: Canadian GP Practice Three (session starts at 5.30pm)
8pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Canadian GP Qualifying
11pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday June 18
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Canadian GP build-up
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
9pm: Chequered Flag Canadian GP reaction
10pm: Ted's Notebook
F1 returns in Canada from June 16-18 with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1, including race coverage from 5.30pm on Sunday June 18
