Steiner raises Mercedes 'understanding' concern

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes are "back", but that the Silver Arrows do not have the same "understanding" of the current regulations that McLaren do.

Mercedes enter this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix having won three of the last four races prior to the summer break. 

George Russell claimed victory in the Austrian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided, whilst Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix on merit. 

Hamilton then inherited victory in Belgium after George Russell who had initially won was disqualified, due to his W15 being under the legal minimum weight.

Despite some of Mercedes' recent luck, the team's strong pace has been genuine. The Brackley-based team turned a significant corner after introducing a large upgrade in Monaco, which has transformed the team. 

After struggling to find the right development path since the current regulations were introduced in 2022, Mercedes is finally on the right trajectory which is allowing Russell and Hamilton to compete with McLaren and Red Bull. 

Steiner praised the team's ability of capitalising on the mistakes of its rivals but pointed out that McLaren has a better understanding of how to make its car consistently perform in the current regulations. 

"I think they did a good job because they were struggling the last two years and you could really see it," Steiner said on the RacingNews365 podcast. 

"But for me, I don't think they've got the stability or the understanding of the car like McLaren. That's my feeling. 

"They get in these positions to win races and what they are good at, if the opportunity is there, they take it. 

"Except obviously we don't talk about George Russell being underweight, because I would have to contradict myself there. Normally, if they get in a position where somebody [ahead] is making a mistake, they are picking it up.'

Mercedes not 'solid'

Whilst Mercedes has improved considerably since the start of the season, it is not fighting for the lead places on a regular basis. 

McLaren is the only team who have done this recently, with Red Bull having shown some weaknesses in the RB20. 

Some have suggested that the Milton Keynes-based team has reached the peak of its development curve, whilst McLaren are continuing to unlock performance. 

How far Mercedes can go with the W15 is currently an unknown, with it being the first car of the Silver Arrows' to have worked across several rounds since 2022. 

Whilst the W13 and W14 showed signs of promise in a few rounds, neither Mercedes car was quick as often as the W15 has been since Monaco. 

Steiner predicts that the Italian Grand Prix next weekend will be a strong one for the German manufacturer but is unsure whether Zandvoort will be a good venue for them this weekend. 

It is based on this point that Steiner believes McLaren has a better understanding of the regulations, as the MCL38 performs strongly across the vast majority of circuits. 

"But I don't think they are solid," Steiner said whilst discussing Mercedes' return to form. "They don't have a solid understanding of what is needed with these cars like McLaren has got.

"But they are good and they are back. But already, if you ask me, 'How will Monza be?', I think Monza will be good for Mercedes because it's high speed and they are good normally at high speed.

"But how good will they be in Zandvoort? I don't really know. But we all know McLaren will be good in both of these race tracks."