F1 News: Mercedes Tease More Performance

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw Mercedes showcase the potential of their latest upgrades during Friday's practice sessions. The team's performance indicated fruitful results, but according to trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin, there's more left in the tank.

Amidst the serene backdrop of Italy’s historic Imola circuit, the W15 showed impressive performance at the hands of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, while Red Bull rivals dropped back behind the likes of McLaren and Ferrari. Shovlin optimistically reported on the improvements seen thanks to this weekend's substantial upgrades.

"We've had a productive day today. The car has been working well across the two sessions and we have been able to improve on the balance over the course of the day. The updates we have here all seem to be doing what we expect, which is encouraging," he told the press, quoted by Grand Prix.com.

The updates appeared to propel Russell and Hamilton into more promising positions, with Russell landing second in FP1 and fifth in FP2, and Hamilton following closely with a solid fourth-place finish in FP2.

However, despite what looks to be all good news, Shovlin also communicated a sobering reality about the pace deficit the Silver Arrows face in race conditions compared to their rivals.

"The experience of the last few races has taught us that we have quite a gap to close. We are hoping to close that gap progressively with developments over the next few events. There's still plenty that we can work on for both single-lap and long-run performance in the meantime. The gaps ahead aren't that big so we'll be looking hard to find a bit of additional speed overnight," he added,

It's clear that the journey to the front of the grid is still a long one for the Brackley outfit.