Mercedes needs to respond in Montreal – Wolff

Toto Wolff says Mercedes needs to respond to its F1 rivals' progress with its first upgrade of the year at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes introduced minimal new parts in Miami earlier this month, while the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull significantly updated their cars and closed the gap at the front of the field. While Kimi Antonelli held off Lando Norris to win the grand prix, Norris led home a McLaren one-two in the Sprint, and Wolff said a reply at the next race from Mercedes is important.

“We head to Canada ready to get back into a regular rhythm of racing,” Wolff said. “Our competitors took a step forward in Miami and we need to respond; seven grands prix in 10 weekends before shutdown is an opportunity to do that and build momentum.

“We bring our first update package of the year to Montréal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track.

“Despite being in the middle of May, we are just four races into the season. There is a long year ahead and, whilst this is an important weekend, it will not decide any outcomes. We will stay balanced, keep learning, and execute each weekend as well as we can. 

“We won't get too high when we succeed or too low in the difficult moments; that is as true for our drivers as it is for the rest of the team.”

Antonelli heads into the Montreal race weekend off the back of three consecutive victories from pole position, giving him a 20-point lead in the drivers’ championship. With expectations rising around the Italian, Wolff said Mercedes also needs to focus on giving him the right environment to keep developing.

“I think the easier thing is making sure that he keeps both feet on the ground here in the team," he said. "His parents have played a big part in that, to keep him grounded. The bigger problem is the Italian public.

“Now that they are not qualified for football [the FIFA World Cup], it's all about [tennis world number one Jannick] Sinner and Antonelli, and Antonelli and Sinner… so it's the two that are superstars. And that is something which we need to contain. There are so many requests for his time – from the media, from sponsors – and it's on us to keep the handbrake on that.”