Mercedes’ heavily revised update package introduced at the Monaco GP boosted the team to a double podium finish at the Spanish GP, but their Trackside Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin, believes this week’s Canadian GP will provide a very different picture due to the nature of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
After a difficult start to the 2023 F1 season, the Brackley squad decided to ditch their ‘zero-pod’ concept at the Monaco GP, changing to a more conventional concept that is more in line with the rest of the field. The change brought good results immediately – George Russell believes he had a “guaranteed podium” in Monaco if not for a mistake in the wet conditions, and the team did grab a double appearance on the rostrum in Spain through sheer speed, with Lewis Hamilton finishing P2 and Russell finishing third despite starting in a lowly 12th place.
But Mercedes is keen to play down expectations ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Speaking on a video on their social media channels, the team’s Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin explained how the nature of the Barcelona track was more suited to the W14’s characteristics regardless of the update package, and expects a tougher time in Montreal due to the circuit’s unique combination of slow corners and long straights – which is more likely to suit Red Bull’s strong points, going by the previous races:
“The car itself would have still been okay [in Barcelona] because we’ve been better at the fast circuits and the front-limited tracks. We ended up with a really good balance and really good race pace.
“Where we’re going to go next in Montreal, it’s a very different circuit. [It has] low-speed corners, quite a lot of straight-line full throttle, and we would expect more of a challenge there.”
Shovlin conceived they don’t expect to be “nipping at the heels” of the Red Bulls, and instead is looking forward to a fight with the team’s closest competitors so far – Aston Martin and Ferrari – and even named a possible new challenger in the form of Alpine for the fight, given their recent run of strong pace and results in the 2023 season:
“So we’re not thinking that we’ll be going in nipping at the heels of Red Bull,” he said. “We’re going in there prepared for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin and maybe even Alpine.
“We’re thinking it will be more along the lines of some of the earlier races, where we are definitely in that bunch with Ferrari, Aston, and now Alpine seems to have joined the group.”
The 49-year-old believes it will be important for Mercedes to extract every ounce of performance it can from its W14, and whilst it may not be enough to beat the all-conqueerig Red Bulls, it will make the difference in a very tight midfield battle all the way down to the 10th place.
“It’s great racing there, it’ll be good fun,” he added. “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’s only a few tenths in it.
“We’re looking forward to more exciting racing, but certainly we’re aware that Canada is likely to be a bigger challenge than the Sunday we just had in Barcelona.”
After their successful Spanish GP, Mercedes claimed second-place in the constructors’ championship for the first time this season, having trailed Aston Martin since the opening round, and will look to build on further on that success at the Canadian GP.
