Miami F1 News: Mercedes Chief Expecting To Be More Competetive At Imola
Mercedes left the Miami race with a total of 20 points thanks to George Russell's fourth place finish and Lewis Hamilton's spectacular sixth place finish after moving 7 places up the pack. Although the W14 struggled in qualifying, it showed a much stronger performance during Sunday's race, much to the satisfaction of team principal Toto Wolff.
Wolff explained that he and the team were pleased with the results, especially considering the difficulties they had with the car:
"Two years ago, we wouldn't have been as delighted with a fourth and sixth place finish, but we're happy with it now," he told Sky Sports. "Qualifying was tough, but the car performed well during the race. Fourth and sixth place finishes are positive results for us."
Russell and Hamilton followed two different strategies during the race. Russell started on medium tires, while Hamilton started on hard tires to extend his lead in the first portion of the race.
"P13 is pretty difficult if you are starting on the same tyres as everybody. Therefore the hard was the better strategy," Wolff said on their choice of compound.
Looking Forward to Imola In two weeks, the F1 circus will head to the Imola circuit in Italy for the sixth Grand Prix of the season. Wolff hopes that with some updates, Mercedes will be able to perform better there.
"We're hoping to make a step forward in Imola and be more competitive again. We're still learning and establishing a new baseline," he said.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how Mercedes performs in the upcoming races. With the right strategy and performance, they could likely challenge the likes of Aston Martin, but I still believe that Red Bull has a pace that simply can't be matched.