Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that the Silver Arrows need to respond to Ferrari as they look to hit back with a new series of upgrades at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona Grand Prix wasn’t in the script for Mercedes.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli had spent the majority of the season fighting over which of them gets to win the race – usually the Italian teenager.
But that all changed in Spain when Hamilton rolled back the years to claim his first win in red for Ferrari.
Wolff ready for fight in Austria
But Wolff is now ready for his team to fight back as they look to restore their usual place on the top step this year.
“Barcelona acted as a benchmark for our current performance and, having won the first six races, offered a reality check,” Wolff said.
“Others have gained ground quickly and we need to respond. We are in a fight for both championships but must improve if we want to come out on top come the end of the season.
“Our Achilles heel so far has been reliability. We have lost a large amount of points across both cars in recent races; if we don’t put together clean weekends, our competitors will happily take advantage.
“We are not standing still in our efforts; we will bring a few updates to Austria this weekend with a focus on improving both performance and reliability.
“The margins are tight, and will be even tighter around Spielberg given the length of the lap.
“We need to put together a better weekend than we have in recent races but if we can deliver to our maximum, then we know we can challenge for victory.”
