Mercedes braced for 'horribly tight' critical F1 battle

Mercedes has acknowledged it is facing 'horribly tight' battle to remain second in the constructors' championship until the end of the season.

The Brackley-based squad enjoyed a strong showing last time out in Baku and took over the runner-up spot in the standings.

While McLaren is all but out of reach at the head of the championship, Mercedes is leading Ferrari and Red Bull by four and 18 points respectively.

Having enjoyed its most competitive showing since Canada last weekend, the team is focusing on replicating the speed on a consistent basis until the end of the year.

“Well, it's desperately tight, tiny number of points ahead of Ferrari and barely more ahead of Red Bull,” said Mercedes technical director James Allison.

“All three of us will be wanting that P2 slot in the championship. 

“Red Bull have really been on a roll recently with Max showing extraordinary form in that car. And Ferrari too are strong competitors. 

“Our focus will be on making sure that we get both our cars up there strongly in the points at every weekend.”

As it seeks to consolidate second place and mark a stark improvement from its fourth-place finish last year, Allison suggested a smooth run during practice will be critical to the outcome of the battle.

“We're masters of our own destiny there because that is how well we prepare for the weekends, how well we then execute that plan and give the drivers a stable platform that they've had plenty of laps in on the Friday, so that when it comes to getting the job done on the Saturday and Sunday, they feel confident to do so. 

“While we are expecting this to be horribly tight all the way to the end of the season, it's absolutely there for us if we work well.”