General
Mercedes seems to want to close the gap to Red Bull with these updates
- GPblog.com
There was some debate: was Mercedes going to make any more updates in 2021 or not? The answer is that the reigning world champion arrives at the Silverstone circuit with some minor improvements. Especially the front end of the W12 seems to have been taken in hand according to information from La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The last Grands Prix did not go according to plan for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas constantly complained about a lack of balance, but thanks to adjustments to the front wing this should be a thing of the past. The pink sports newspaper also suspects that aerodynamic upgrades have been developed which will be introduced in Britain.
Better W12 balance
Silverstone is known for its fast cornering. The downforce is very important and that in combination with an improved balance should make Mercedes able to compete with the RB16B of Red Bull Racing.
It is clear that Mercedes need to make a step forward. The last five victories all went to the Red Bull team and on top of that, the German formation was really downgraded during the two races at the Red Bull Ring by Max Verstappen. Silverstone is known as 'Mercedes country' so it will be very interesting, especially because for the first time they will experiment with a sprint race.