Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says that the heavily anticipated upgrades that were unveiled in Monaco didn’t bring any “nasty surprises”.
The Brackley-based was originally scheduled to bring the new components to Imola, but its plans were disrupted when the race was cancelled.
It opted to bring the upgrades to Monaco, despite the unique nature of the circuit.
The race weekend brought further challenges as during the race, rain began to fall, placing extra pressure on the drivers to keep the car out of the walls.
“It’s always a challenge when rain falls midway through a race and the team handled it well in Monaco,” Wolff reflected. “We made the right calls and scored some solid points.”
George Russell was cautious over the extent of Mercedes’ understanding of its new parts, stating that a clearer picture would be realised in Barcelona.
Wolff concurred with the Briton, and is confident that the team will be able to grasp a firmer understanding during the upcoming race weekend around Barcelona’s more traditional layout.
“It is impossible to evaluate our upgrades on a circuit like Monaco, but at least we didn’t have any nasty surprises,” he said.
“We now move on to Barcelona. Spain will provide an opportunity for us to establish a new baseline with the W14.
“It is a track that we are familiar with, although the removal of the final chicane will make it a much quicker lap.
“It comprises a wide range of corner types; that provides a good opportunity for us to learn about the new package.
“We don’t expect to see a step change in performance, but we’re hopeful it will provide a more stable platform.”
