Toto Wolff wants Mercedes to produce a response at the Austrian Grand Prix after being handed a “reality check” in Barcelona.
Lewis Hamilton delivered a first Grand Prix win for Ferrari, with George Russell and Lando Norris completing an all-British podium after championship leader Kimi Antonelli had suffered a late retirement.
With Ferrari set to introduce a power unit upgrade in Spielberg, both Antonelli -- whose championship lead over Hamilton is now at 41 points -- and Russell, sitting 50 points behind in third, are expected to face another stern test of what their own Mercedes can produce.
Mercedes boss Wolff, whose team are 72 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship after six race wins and nine podium finishes, accepts small margins are again set to make a big difference when looking for track advantage around the Red Bull Ring.
“Barcelona acted as a benchmark for our current performance and, having won the first six races, offered a reality check,” Wolff said in quotes on the Mercedes F1 team website.
“Others have gained ground quickly and we need to respond. We are in a fight for both championships, but must improve if we want to come out on top come the end of the season.”
Antonelli saw his five-race winning streak end with a DNF at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, when he suffered a late engine failure having just overtaken teammate Russell for second.
Wolff knows such technical issues, which have also dogged Russell this season, need to be resolved to keep everyone on course for a successful campaign, with Mercedes set to bring in a “few updates” of its own this weekend.
“Our Achilles heel so far has been reliability,” Wolff said. “We have lost a large amount of points across both cars in recent races -- if we don’t put together clean weekends, our competitors will happily take advantage.
“We are not standing still in our efforts. We will bring a few updates to Austria this weekend with a focus on improving both performance and reliability.
“The margins are tight, and will be even tighter around Spielberg given the length of the lap.
“We need to put together a better weekend than we have in recent races, but if we can deliver to our maximum, then we know we can challenge for victory.”
