Mercedes heads into the British Grand Prix on the back of a victory in Austria, but team principal Toto Wolff is refusing to get carried away. Despite George Russell’s triumph at the Red Bull Ring, the Austrian insists the Formula 1 competitive order remains incredibly close and warns that there are no guarantees Mercedes will be the team to beat at Silverstone.
Antonelli ready to challenge Russell on home soil
Mercedes returned to the top step of the podium in Austria thanks to George Russell, although the team narrowly missed out on a one-two finish. Max Verstappen crossed the line ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose race was compromised by several mistakes during the opening stages.
There is little time to rest, as Formula 1 heads straight to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, which will also feature the Sprint format. That means Russell and Antonelli could find themselves battling twice over the weekend, much like they did earlier this season in Canada.
Even so, Toto Wolff is determined to keep expectations under control and is unwilling to assume Mercedes will automatically remain at the front, despite racing just a few kilometres from the team’s Brackley headquarters.
“We achieved a very good result in Austria with a double podium, but we cannot take it for granted that this trend will continue. The performance gaps are incredibly small, the pecking order changes quickly, and what looks competitive one week can be very different the next. That is the reality of Formula 1 at the moment.”
Wolff also highlighted the relentless development battle taking place throughout the grid.
“We are involved in an intense development race. Whenever one team makes a step forward, the others respond, compressing or reshaping the competitive order. So far, consistency has been our greatest strength, thanks to discipline and our ability to execute the fundamentals well. Our objective is to continue working in the same way, improve the car’s performance wherever possible and leave nothing to chance on track.”
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