F1 News: Mercedes Backs Down From Red Bull Battle In Canadian Grand Prix

The Spanish Grand Prix was a success story for Mercedes, but will the Canadian Grand Prix yield similar results?

With the Canadian Grand Prix looming over this upcoming weekend, the Mercedes team have admitted that they have backed out of a fight between their drivers and Red Bull. Instead, they'll be focussing their crosshairs on Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Alpine.

The Silver Arrows have seemingly regained their performance, snatching the title of the second-fastest team on the F1 circuit after their upgrades came to fruition at the Spanish Grand Prix. The resurgence, courtesy of new sidepods, floor fences, and front suspension, saw Lewis Hamilton and George Russell clinch P2 and P3 respectively - their first podiums of the 2023 season. 

Looking to maintain their newfound momentum, Mercedes gears up for another powerful performance in Canada. However, the team's pre-Grand Prix assessment excludes Red Bull from their list of possible competitors. Andrew Shovlin, the man leading the assessment, appears more concerned about other racing outfits.

“We are thinking it will be more along the lines of some of the earlier races where we were definitely in the bunch with Ferrari, with Aston, and now Alpine look to have joined that group,” Shovlin admitted in a recent debrief video.

“But it’s great racing there [in Montreal]. It will be good fun and we are certainly going to be fighting to find every little bit of performance we can because the way the grid stacks up now you can be P2 or you can be P10, and there are only a few tenths in it.

“We are looking forward to more exciting racing but certainly we are aware that Canada is likely to be a bigger challenge than the Sunday we just had in Barcelona.”

Shovlin continued, commented on whether the W14 will perform differently at the Canadian track, one known for its tight corners and challenging twists.

 Now, where we are going to go next week, Montreal, it’s a very different circuit.

“There are more low-speed corners, quite a lot of straight-line full throttle and we would expect more of a challenge there. We are not thinking that we are going in nipping at the heels of Red Bull.

“We are going in there prepared for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin, and maybe even Alpine.”

Mercedes has historically performed well on faster circuits and tracks that limit the front. The car's balance and pace in Barcelona was impressive. But, the Montreal circuit, with its low-speed corners and long, full-throttle straights, is a different beast.