This weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix presents a “huge challenge” for Mercedes due to the quantity of full-throttle sections at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, according to boss Toto Wolff.
Mercedes has not been beaten to victory since last October’s Mexican Grand Prix, with Valtteri Bottas’ third in Monaco marking its first non 1-2 result of 2019.
Wolff believes that the characteristics shown by Mercedes so far this year means that the high-speed sections of the wall-lined venue present a test for the operation.
Ferrari last year dominated the event, with Sebastian Vettel converting pole position into a comfortable win.
“Canada is the seventh race of the season and we are beginning to see more clearly the strengths and weaknesses of our car,” said Wolff.
“In the past six races, we were very strong in the corners but lost time on the straights.
“This will make Canada a huge challenge for us as the track characteristics could favour our opponents – there are many long straights, and fewer corners in which to make up lap time.
“But we're looking forward to the challenge; we've seen some great races in Canada in recent years and expect another action-packed weekend in Montreal.”
Mercedes’ first defeat of the V6 turbo hybrid era came in Canada in 2014 when simultaneous MGU-H failures slowed both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo going on to win.
Mercedes since struck back with victories in 2015, 2016 and 2017 prior to its defeat by Ferrari 12 months ago.
Mercedes holds a 118-point advantage over its Italian rival in the Constructors’ Championship.
