Mercedes has a number of improvements planned before the F1 break. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that his team will soon introduce several upgrade packages to the W14, the first at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, and a second before F1’s summer break which begins just after the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of July.

Since the introduction of an update package for the W14 at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Mercedes team has made clear progress, with a double podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix and third place for Lewis Hamilton last weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes progress

The gap between third-placed Lewis Hamilton and Canadian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen was ‘just’ 15 seconds at the end of Sunday’s race, proof if any were needed that Mercedes has made significant progress since the start of the year.

But Toto Wolff revealed after the finish of round eight that more new features would soon be arriving on the W14:

“We’re going to take [a bigger package of improvements] to Silverstone. Then we should have another one before the break,” said Toto Wolff last weekend in Montreal.

“It’s just that the learning curve has accelerated a lot since we changed the architecture of certain parts. I think there should be some decent improvements to come over the next four races.”

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Canadian GP reactions

Reflecting on Mercedes’ performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton secured a second consecutive podium for the team by finishing third, Wolff admitted that Mercedes had not expected to perform so well at the Montreal track.

“We didn’t expect to perform well in Canada because the DNA of the car at the moment is more suited to high-speed corners. So it’s encouraging, but we mustn’t forget that Max [Verstappen] is cruising at the front.”

“Maybe cruising isn’t the right word…Max still has an easier time at the front, he’s not cruising, but I still think there’s margin, so there’s quite a gap to make up.”

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Can Mercedes win?

Asked if he thought Mercedes could now compete for wins, Toto Wolff was categorical on this point:

“No. I think the gap is still too big. I think the gap is still too big to really think that Max is under pressure.”

After the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes is in second place in the Constructors’ World Championship with 167 points so far this year, 13 more than the Aston Martin team.

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Ah, classic Toto being Toto 😆#CanadianGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/VJVDiwYIRB

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 19, 2023