Mercedes was quick in Singapore, but Toto Wolff sees a narrow set-up window: the update is set to provide further answers in Austin
Although Mercedes demonstrated competitive pace with its update in Malaysia, Toto Wolff still sees a key difficulty. The new car is fast, he says, provided the team finds the right set-up. However, it is precisely this narrow window that makes further development a challenge.
In Austin, Mercedes intends to deploy the package again to find out whether it works on a different circuit. “The conclusion is that, in terms of pace, it was very fast today,” Wolff told Sky after the Singapore race. “I think it has an incredibly narrow window in which it works.”
The key question, therefore, is to fine-tune the set-up so that the car can deliver its performance. “That’s the trick, or the difficulty,” explains the Mercedes team principal.
Mercedes must first understand the update
These comments show that Mercedes cannot simply unlock the extra performance at the flick of a switch. The car can be fast, but it clearly depends heavily on finding the right set-up. The sprint weekend in Singapore made the task even more difficult.
The team’s priority now is to better understand the conditions under which the update can realise its potential. Wolff has therefore announced that he intends to use the package at the next race in Austin as well. “We’ll run it again in Austin and see if it works there.”
In Singapore, the Silver Arrows opted for a side-by-side comparison: championship leader Kimi Antonelli drove with the new specification, whilst his team-mate George Russell drove with the old one. In the sprint sessions, Russell appeared to be the faster of the two, whilst in the standard qualifying and the race, it was Antonelli.
Antonelli delivers a better result than expected
In Singapore, Mercedes managed to secure third place – a result that exceeded expectations. Kimi Antonelli finished on the podium. Wolff is pleased with the young Italian’s performance and emphasises that he drove a strong race.
“Kimi drove really well today,” said Wolff. The initial aim had been to score points. However, they hadn’t expected Mercedes to even beat Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari. “In that respect, the result is better than we thought,” the Austrian concluded.
Wolff also gave a positive assessment of the new car’s handling in the corners: “The new car handled the corners reasonably well.” At the same time, he made it clear that Mercedes has not yet completed its analysis.
