Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has conceded vulnerability remains within the W14, despite a clear "upward trend" being displayed with a strong qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will start the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve third and fourth after overcoming tricky wet conditions in FP3 and qualifying and taking advantage of a penalty for Nico Hulkenberg. The pace of the Silver Arrows fell away during final practice with a lack of tyre warm-up on the Intermediate tyre compound, though the team rebounded to secure promising grid spots for the race. "We can be satisfied," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com . "The two cars that put two consecutive laps in are in front, that is pretty normal. "Lewis went straight in Q2... that would have put him fastest of the Inter runners, a very, very competitive lap time. "So overall, I think the speed was there considering this is not a strong circuit for us and it was raining. That's why I think it was ok."
Good response
Mercedes expected tougher times in Canada this weekend, with the Montreal circuit supposedly not suited to the upgraded W14 package. Whilst the qualifying result is another pointer in the right direction after a double podium finish in Spain last time out, Wolff warned the FP3 issues prove the team isn't out of the darkness yet. "I think we can be carefully optimistic. What we see is an upward trend," he explained. "But at the same time, you can see how vulnerable we are in FP3 where we didn't have enough temperature in the tyres and we fell off a cliff. "It was a good response though."
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