Allison on Mercedes upgrades: 'We're sort of gently on the up'
F1 News
- Toby McLuskie
In Barcelona, Mercedes came out strong. The updates introduced in Monaco seemed to work well on a 'normal' circuit and the German constructor managed to book a double podium in Spain as a result. However, James Allison remains cautious about the chances for the rest of the season.
In Monaco, Mercedes came up with a host of updates for the W14. Among them, the German team came with a new front suspension and a new floor. Most notable, however, was that the Mercedes cars from now on had side pods, which saw the 'Silver Arrows' abandon the innovative zero pods concept after more than a year.
Allison remains cautious about Mercedes performance
Monaco may not have been the most suitable circuit to test the new parts, but Barcelona was. In Spain, Lewis Hamilton finished second and George Russell third, despite the young Briton having to start from 12th position. At the press conference in Canada, Mercedes' Technical Director made it clear that the team hoped to have made a turnaround with the updates.
"I loved the good result we had in Barcelona. That puts a smile on everyone's face. I think probably a little bit too soon to say that summer's arrived with that one swallow. But nevertheless, everybody enjoyed seeing a car that was going at a decent lick, looking after its tyres, and scoring two podiums on merit. So hopefully we've turned a bit of a corner. I think this track's going to be very different in the challenges it places on a car. But yeah, I think we're sort of gently on the up."