Toto Wolff is unsure whether Mercedes' latest spate of updates has delivered the desired effect, voicing his apprehension that the development has not brought the expected performance gains.
Unlike the vast majority of the paddock, the Brackley-based squad held off introducing its first significant upgrade package of the season in Miami, instead opting for three weeks later in Montreal.
And once it arrived, it helped George Russell and Kimi Antonelli comfortably wrap up both pole positions and the sprint win, and grand prix victory, respectively, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — though the latter was aided in part by McLaren's ill-fated decision to start the race on intermediate tyres.
However, the Mercedes team principal is not convinced the suite of updates produced what the eight-time constructors' champion was predicting.
"At times, I felt like it didn't bring the performance gains that we had expected on paper, but it's very difficult to assess," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.
"We didn't see the McLarens [in the grand prix] at all, and we had the pace, we had the gap, but how much that is, is it what we have anticipated? I think it's very difficult to judge yet."
McLaren has ported seven individual upgrades to the MCL40 in Florida, before adding a further seven for the Canadian Grand Prix, underlining the pace at which teams are developing.
Mercedes, meanwhile, incorporated eight to the W17, but Wolff says it will be unclear for some time whether those will help his team retain its advantage over the chasing pack, particularly given its prior success in the Québécois city.
The Austrian explained: "And, also, Montreal was a sweet circuit for us last year, so is that shining a better light on our performance than it would be on any other circuit?
"Probably Monaco, we won't know it either. So we need to continue to monitor and to analyse."
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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