Mercedes planning W16 upgrades between Imola and Barcelona with focus on tyre temperatures. Mercedes plans to introduce key upgrades between Imola and Barcelona.

A solid Mercedes
Looking at the standings, behind McLaren, Mercedes is emerging as the second-strongest team on the grid – despite not yet achieving a win or a pole position. The team led by Toto Wolff is showing more competitiveness than last year, with four podiums collected in the first six races by George Russell demonstrating the strength of the W16 project.
It’s worth noting that their first podium in 2024 came only in the eighth race.

A step forward?
The Silver Arrows have set their sights on the next three races to give an even more positive boost to their season, as highlighted by Toto Wolff: “We have something planned for Imola, for Barcelona, and also for Montreal.” As usual, the European leg of the season marks the first major wave of car upgrades.

Mercedes Technical Director James Allison also confirmed the team principal’s remarks: “We hope that the updates we’ll introduce in the next two or three races will shift things a little more in our favour. We’ll keep working on tyre temperatures during the race, that should also help with development.” – he pointed out.

The British engineer concluded: “So far, we’ve always been strong in qualifying, so we can expect that to continue, maybe even improving. But on Sundays, we want to deliver on the promise we show on Saturdays. The most important thing is to manage tyre temperatures and allow the car to demonstrate the pace it’s capable of.”