Mercedes are not expecting that their latest Formula 1 upgrade package will put them "nipping at the heels" of Red Bull. The team introduced new updates to the W14 in Monaco, which ditched their 'zero sidepod' in favour of a more conventional design. They also introduced a new front suspension set-up to exploit a key area similar to the RB19 . The Silver Arrows have avoided jumping to conclusions on whether they have fixed their problems with car set-up, despite both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell scoring double podiums in Barcelona. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin believes the updates are designed to work well at high-speed circuits such as Barcelona. “The fact is that the update kit works very well around circuits like Barcelona with a lot of high-speed performance,” said Shovlin on the Mercedes Strategy Debrief video. “Although, the car itself would have still been okay there 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.”
Shovlin: Montreal very different
Shovlin believes that the mixture of low-speed corners around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will present more of a challenge for Mercedes at the Canadian Grand Prix. "Now, where we are going to go next week, Montreal, it's a very different circuit. There are more low-speed corners, quite a lot of straight-line full throttle and we would expect more of a challenge there," said Shovlin. "We are not thinking that we are going in nipping at the heels of Red Bull. We are going in there prepared for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin, and maybe even Alpine." Mercedes have comfortably finished ahead of Ferrari in the last few races, while their high points hauls in Monaco and Spain have put them ahead of Aston Martin in the Constructors' Championship.
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