Wolff plots Mercedes resurgence after rival improvements

Toto Wolff has asserted that Mercedes needs to replicate the steps taken by McLaren and Ferrari as it looks to re-establish itself in the group of teams fighting for wins and podiums.

The 52-year-old feels that by continuing to "chip away" at those in front, the German marque can get itself back in contention.

The Austrian wants to see his team follow the path taken by its competitors in recent weeks, with both McLaren and Ferrari having taken the fight to Red Bull and beaten the constructors champions on merit in Miami and Monaco respectively.

Wolff believes Mercedes are in the right position to launch a similar assault on the leading teams - something he contends is not only a plan for the long-term.

"You just got to chip away performance by performance," the team principal told media including RacingNews365 after the Monaco Grand Prix.

"With McLaren, the sensational step last year from one race to the other. They kept adding performance on a concept that functioned. Ferrari has been doing it step by step by step when you look at where they were last year. 

"And the same, this is where I see ourselves - that we just gotta bring us into a position that we can fight with the guys in front and that we can fight for wins, that we can fight for podiums. And that's something that we have absolutely as an objective in the short-term as well."

Further updates in Montreal and Barcelona

Mercedes showed strong pace throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, with Lewis Hamilton in the top three in both FP2 and FP3, after setting the best time in the first practice session, too. He qualified seventh for the race, where he finished after battling the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead.

George Russell put an updated front wing to good effect to out-qualify the triple-world champion. On the Sunday, he ran medium tyres for 76 laps after the early red flag, but managed to hold off the Dutchman to come home in fifth. Hamilton will also have the upgrade at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Whilst not necessarily reflected in the results, the weekend in Monte Carlo was a step forward for the team, with its one lap pace comparable to the McLarens, Ferraris and Red Bulls. However, on a circuit it is near impossible to pass at, qualifying sealed the fate of the entire top 10.

Despite this step and further updates to come in the next two rounds, Wolff is tempering expectations by highlighting the balance of splitting resources and the ever-present possibility of development setbacks.

"What we're doing now, is probably solving that... I don't think that the tube is large enough to kind of feed and head at that stage - but we're getting there," he explained when asked how optimistic he felt about the upcoming rounds.

"Montreal is a little bit of an outlier of a track that we're gonna add something and we're gonna add something for Barcelona. So just try to chip away, bearing in mind there could also be setbacks."