Mercedes have promised to be consistently bringing upgrades over the "next few" Formula 1 races. Following their below-par start to the season - which prompted Team Principal Toto Wolff to promise a complete design revolution of their W14 car - Mercedes are playing catch-up to runaway championship leader Red Bull. A difficult Bahrain race was followed by gradual improvements in Saudi Arabia and Australia, which has offered hope that more pace can be extracted from the Mercedes car. The team now believes that there is a 'clear' design direction for the remainder of the season , which was thought to centre around a bigger upgrade package at the Emilia-Romagna GP, which takes place after the upcoming Azerbaijan and Miami Grands Prix. However, whilst Mercedes were still expected to bring new developments sooner than that to Baku, Wolff has now promised a consistent stream of upgrades in the 'next few races'.
When discussing the four-week break and the upcoming events, Wolff shared his excitement at the number of developments being brought to the race weekends, but fired a warning to keep expectations "realistic". "Baku is a very different track. It's high speed on the straights and it's always an entertaining race. Miami's track layout is also a unique challenge," commented Wolff in a Mercedes Q&A. "And then obviously Imola, where we will start the first triple-header of the season. We will consistently be bringing upgrades to the car over the next few races, which is something to look forward to. "But there is no such thing as a magic bullet that transforms the car, and it's about being realistic with your expectations. Hopefully we will see a steady improvement."
Wolff declares full faith in team
With Mercedes making few noticeable changes to the team as a result of the slow start, Wolff reiterated his confidence in the team, highlighting the performance dips that most top sports teams face at some point. "The machine is continuing to run in Brixworth and Brackley at a fast pace," continued Wolff. "What you see on track is only the tip of the iceberg, but the performance of the car and Power Unit is made in these two factories. The mindset is great, the spirit is there and I see a lot of buzz. "I believe 100 percent in our organisation, because our perspective is not always on a single race weekend, not even a single season. It's on trying to build our capability so we are successful over multiple years, while recognising the fact you are never going to win every single season, because no sports team has ever done it."
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