Mercedes confirmed its impressive pace in Sprint qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, with the team’s latest upgrades helping put the W17 back at the front of the field. However, despite George Russell securing pole position and Andrea Kimi Antonelli completing a front-row lockout, Toto Wolff admitted he was not entirely satisfied with the performance shown by Mercedes in Montreal.
While the final result suggested a dominant session for the Brackley-based team, the Mercedes Team Principal pointed out that the margin over the competition remained far tighter than expected. Speaking to Mara Sangiorgio after the session, Toto Wolff admitted he had hoped to see more from the car’s raw pace.
“It’s always like that, you always expect a little bit more,” Wolff said. The Austrian also referenced Lewis Hamilton’s final SQ3 lap, noting that the Ferrari driver’s mistake prevented what could have been an even closer fight at the front. “If Lewis doesn’t make that mistake, he does a lap time similar to ours.”
Toto Wolff expected more despite Sprint pole
Despite the positive result, Toto Wolff made it clear he was not fully convinced by Mercedes’ overall performance level. “For today, I didn’t like our speed. Everything is new, I expected us to be one or two tenths quicker, but we’ll see tomorrow.”
So even with pole position secured, Mercedes remains cautious about the threat from its rivals. “It’s first place, but not by much margin, so we have to be happy. For today we had the fastest package, but we need to keep pushing tomorrow as well.”
Looking ahead to both the Sprint race and Sunday’s Grand Prix, Toto Wolff made it clear that Ferrari and McLaren remain the main teams Mercedes is watching closely. “I fear the Ferraris and also the McLarens. In the end, it’s always these three teams, together with Max Verstappen.”
Mercedes working hard on start performance
Another key area for Mercedes remains race starts, an aspect the team has reportedly been working on extensively in recent weeks after some inconsistent launches earlier in the season. Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes has introduced several changes in an effort to improve that weakness.
“We’ll see tomorrow. We changed quite a few things, small details, especially on the electronics. The starts we saw today were solid, but not extraordinary,” Wolff explained.
That work will continue into Saturday, with Mercedes planning further evaluation during the Sprint race. “We’ll do more tests. Tomorrow it will be important to understand how things go in the Sprint, but the real race is Sunday. The Sprint is a baby race.”
Mercedes may currently hold the upper hand in Montreal, but Toto Wolff’s comments suggest the team is far from relaxed. With Ferrari showing flashes of strong pace through Lewis Hamilton, McLaren still firmly in the fight, and Max Verstappen always a threat, the Canadian Grand Prix weekend remains very much open despite Mercedes’ strong Friday showing.
Mercedes’ front-row lockout in Canada therefore highlights their impressive developmental steps forward, yet Toto Wolff’s cautious approach serves as a reminder that the field remains incredibly tight. As the team addresses its electronics and race starts ahead of Sunday’s main event, managing their narrow advantage over Ferrari, McLaren, and Max Verstappen will be the definitive factor in turning this qualifying success into a double podium finish.
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