In an intense showdown in Montréal, George Russell and Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in a thrilling dead heat, with Russell ultimately securing the pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The new front wing may be the most visible of Mercedes’ upgrades but Toto Wolff believes it’s the overall improvement in downforce, and in the “right places”, that put George Russell on pole in Canada.
Having achieved a qualifying time of 1:12.000, Russell will commence the Canadian Grand Prix from the first position on the starting grid.
Toto Wolff proclaims: We’re going in the right direction
Despite Max Verstappen matching his time, it was Lewis Hamilton who secured pole position as he completed his lap after George Russell.
It marked Mercedes’ best qualifying showing of this season with the team having slowly made inroads on their deficit to the frontrunners, inroads that even Russell concedes weren’t always that noticeable.
During the post-qualifying press conference, the victor of the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix expressed, “A tremendous amount of effort is being devoted behind the scenes at Brackley and Brixworth. It took some time for us to regain our competitiveness.”
“We’ve nearly believed that our tireless efforts were going in vain. However, I firmly believe that these recent two race weekends have truly demonstrated otherwise.”
The British driver secured their second career pole position thanks to the recent upgrade by the Brackley team, which prominently featured a new front wing.
However, Wolff maintains that the team’s step forward was not solely due to that.
“As we have said for a while,” the team principal told the Sky F1 in Montreal, “we’re going in the right direction.
“We have introduced numerous small enhancements across the past few races, with varying levels of visibility, all aimed at improving performance.”
“In Formula 1, it’s never just one element that determines success, especially since the introduction of the double diffuser. During practice yesterday, we used the old wing and performed exceptionally well in various conditions.”
“So, there are debris on the floor, small fragments on the bodywork and underneath, and particularly noticeable damage on the front wing.”
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Toto Wolff believes Mercedes’ have a grip’ on the car
Wolff asserts that Mercedes now has a firm grasp on the car, following two years of grappling with Formula 1’s ground-effect aerodynamic concept.
“He said that while we may think we have control of the car, it is important to remember that one success does not guarantee overall success. The lap was impressive, and George did exceptionally well.”
However, it is important for us to remain grounded. Just three races ago, our performance was lacking. Yet now, we have secured a pole position and achieved a satisfactory outcome. Hopefully, we can maintain this momentum during the upcoming race and if we perform well in the long term.
“In the upcoming races, I believe you can have greater confidence in our performance.”
He attributed Mercedes’ improvement to “increased downforce, strategically placed in the right areas.”
“We used to experience either high-speed agility or the opposite, lacking balance altogether. However, the drivers now affirm that the car is finely balanced.”
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