Mercedes are coming off their best weekend of the entire 2024 season in the Canadian Grand Prix. George Russell scored the team’s first podium in a Grand Prix this season, with a second-place finish after qualifying on pole position, and the fourth-place finish from teammate Lewis Hamilton — coupled with the bonus point for the fastest lap of the Grand Prix — saw the Silver Arrows bank 28 points over their weekend in Montreal.
Can they keep that momentum going in Barcelona?
Previewing this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff outlined how the team hopes to keep the momentum going, but the configuration of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya may pose a stiff test for the upgraded W15.
“We have continued to make incremental gains across the past few races. It was encouraging therefore to take another positive step forward in Canada,” said Wolff in the team’s media preview. “To see that translate into our strongest team result of the season so far is a reward for everyone’s hard work.”
Wolff cautioned that not only is the circuit in Montreal “unique,” but Mercedes are not the only team working hard at upgrading their challenger.
“The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a unique track, however. It has a narrow range of corner speeds and, with a newly re-laid surface, was something of an outlier compared to more traditional venues,” added Wolff. “We know our competitors will perform more strongly at upcoming races so we will need to continue to work hard to consistently get ourselves in the fight for podiums, and eventually race wins.”
As for what to expect in Barcelona, Wolff outlined that the Spanish Grand Prix might be the best measuring stick yet for how far the team has progressed with the W15.
“Barcelona will provide a good test of our progress. It has a mix of fast, medium, and low speed corners, a long straight and plenty of elevation change,” described Wolff. “Tracks that contain this wide speed range have been a weakness of ours so far this year. This weekend will therefore provide another opportunity to evaluate our progress through our recent updates, and we hope to build on the positive momentum from Montreal.”
Mercedes enter the Spanish Grand Prix still in fourth place in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, but the 28 points they banked in Montreal saw the team inch closer to not only Red Bull at the top of the table, but Ferrari in second:
Not only did Mercedes outscore Red Bull 28-25 in Montreal, but they outscored Ferrari 28-0 thanks to a double DNF from the Scuderia.
It might be hard to duplicated that in Barcelona, where Red Bull is expected to perform well and Ferrari might be bringing some upgrades of their own, but the results these past few weeks indicate that progress is truly happening at Mercedes.