"We want more": 8x champions Mercedes targets bigger results after Lewis Hamilton podium in Barcelona

After securing a podium with Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona and one with George Russell in Canada, Mercedes director Andrew Shovlin has made it clear that the team wants more and is not resting on its laurels. The turnaround for the team apparently began with the new wing that was introduced in Monaco.

That wing has helped Mercedes make a major leap forward and the results have been brilliant. In Canada, George Russell secured his second career pole position and the team's first podium of the season. In Barcelona, it was a second-row start for both drivers, and from that starting point, Lewis Hamilton would go on to secure his first podium of the season.

The race in Barcelona was also proof that the team is now back to being a frontrunner. It's not at the level of Red Bull right now, but it is within striking distance. Buoyed by Lewis Hamilton's podium in Spain, and what was a validation of the team's progress, Mercedes director said that the team was not resting on its laurels and striving for more. As quoted by Racingnews365, he said,

"It's great to see both drivers on the podium in the last two events. That's a sign of the progress that we've made with all the hard work back at the factory. But we want more, we want to do better than third places, we're working hard, and we've got plans and we've got parts coming and hopefully that will all come to fruition."

He added,

"In terms of Austria, it's a tricky circuit and it's a sprint race. So with a sprint race, you've got one hour to get the car sorted out and set up. Now, the recent changes we've made to the car, it's an easier thing to work with. The drivers have been much happier with the start setups and we've had to make fewer changes."

Mercedes reveals upgrades waiting in the pipeline

With the top 4 teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren within three-tenths of each other in terms of performance, a lot of the results are going to come down to how the upgrades that each of them brings. Shovlin was cognizant of it as he revealed that there are already things in the pipeline that are projected to improve the performance even more. He said,

"We've got a plan to bring more performance to the car and it's some of the areas that we've been working on recently, just aerodynamic development, mechanical developments. Those are coming through in the next few races, so we don't really want to give our competitors an idea of when we're bringing an update because then they'll be pushing to try and bring one sooner."

He added,

"But certainly we've got more stuff coming. We can see that gap getting down and as it gets smaller, it's motivating people even more to sort of push to bring small developments."

Mercedes was second in the championship last season. At the moment, the team is 4th overall. The recent results are certainly going to be the kind of encouragement that helps the team try to get closer to the top once again.