“We’ve had this positive trajectory”: Toto Wolff optimistic Mercedes will ‘make way through the problems’ after strong Canada outing

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has found a fresh sense of optimism inside the Silver Arrows' camp after the team's encouraging performance in the recent Canadian GP. With his P3 finish, George Russell secured the team's first podium finish of the season at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Following back-to-back lackluster campaigns in the 2022 and 2023 F1 seasons, the eight-time Constructors' Champions have continued to struggle in the ongoing season. The current season has not been any easier, with the W15 car failing to meet expectations and the team unable to secure a podium until their performance in Montreal.

The upgrades introduced to the car seem to have finally paid off. George Russell not only achieved the team’s first pole position since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix but also secured a third-place finish on race day despite some mistakes. Lewis Hamilton also showed resilience, moving up three places to finish fourth over the course of the 70 laps.

Reflecting on this recent upswing of form, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expressed a sense of optimism following the Canadian GP. Speaking to Formula 1 after the race, Wolff stated:

"We’ve had this positive trajectory since the last three races and everything seems to be making much more sense. The stopwatch will tell us."

"You really need to work your way through the problems. I think definitely since Imola we’ve taken the right steps and put parts on the car that were working," he added. "We have new parts coming in Barcelona. That should help us, so I would very much hope that we can continue this positive trajectory."

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Toto Wolff sheds light on Mercedes' upgrade package

The German outfit's upward trend comes after significant upgrades were made to the car, addressing several key issues that had plagued the team.

The team has faced significant challenges with their car's design and the correlation between the wind tunnel data and on-track performance. The bouncing issue, a problematic aspect of their car's dynamics, had been a persistent hindrance.

Reflecting on the recent upgrades, Wolff explained the process behind these improvements. He said (via Formula 1):

"I know that everybody got tired by this answer, but you can’t reverse engineer the performance of the car and say, 'We’re looking at a Red Bull and this is what we want our car to be.'"

"It didn’t seem to correlate between the tunnel and the track, and the car was difficult to drive, we had the bouncing coming back. Then we had a clear indication of what we were missing in the jigsaw, and we put that piece in," he added.

After nine races, Mercedes' George Russell is ranked seventh in the F1 Drivers' Standings. He has 54 points to his name. Meanwhile, with 42 points, Lewis Hamilton finds himself in eighth position.