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Even after a dominant performance for Mercedes in Austria, the team have more improvements to make, according to Toto Wolff.
George Russell managed to win the Austrian Grand Prix after a strong performance, especially when it came to managing his tyres.
Not far behind was Kimi Antonelli, who almost snatched P2 from Max Verstappen, but settled for a third place finish in the end.
George Russell wins the Austrian Grand Prix! What was your main takeaway from the race?
After the race, Toto Wolff praised Mercedes for fending off Lewis Hamilton quite comfortably, despite the threat he posed to them.
However, it appears Wolff and Mercedes are going to have an even bigger edge over their rivals, as they have been waiting to deploy an upgrade package at the right time.
READ MORE: George Russell adamant viral Austrian GP radio wasn’t a dig at Kimi Antonelli
Toto Wolff admits Mercedes waiting for right time to deploy ‘decent’ upgrade package
Speaking on the Austrian Grand Prix Post-Race Show, Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff was asked about the possibility of introducing upgrades in the near future.
While taking a dig at Ferrari’s excessive upgrade packages, Wolff revealed that Mercedes are holding onto a powerful upgrade package that they want to deploy at the right time in the season.
“It’s always the balance between next year and this one, and we’re pushing hard with updates in the tunnel. On paper, we have a decent, decent upgrade, but we’re not deploying it yet.
“You have to do it at the right time. Ferrari has been throwing things at their car massively. I guess they’ll be running out of the cost cap soon, because we couldn’t do it.
“We simply haven’t got the margin financially. So, let’s see where that leads them.”
Does George Russell’s Austrian GP win earn him Driver of the Day honours, or were you more impressed by one of his rivals?
Mercedes could regain dominant edge with new upgrade package
If Mercedes’ upgrade package is as strong as Toto Wolff is hinting, then the rest of the teams on the grid must be careful about the team re-establishing their early-season dominance.
Even with Ferrari getting Mercedes’ rear-diffuser banned heading into the race weekend in Austria, Mercedes managed to best them quite comfortably.
And even with a heat weather warning that could impact Mercedes, both Russell and Antonelli managed to deliver strong results.
If this upgrade package can address their recent reliability issues and give them a boost in race pace, it would cement Mercedes as the favourites for both championships this season.
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