Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the team understands where it needs to improve in Formula 1 this season, having been beaten by Ferrari in two of the opening three Grands Prix.
Mercedes has controlled qualifying this season, but Ferrari has turned the tables both dry-weather races, with Sebastian Vettel utilising superior tyre performance to claim victories in Australia and Bahrain.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas concentrated on long-run tyre performance during in-season testing at Sakhir last week, and both expressed encouragement regarding the work undertaken.
Wolff is confident that Mercedes swiftly address its issues and return to winning ways.
“Second and third place is definitely not a disaster, but if you have a car and two drivers capable of winning races and it hasn't materialised, then it feels painful – and this is how it should feel,” Wolff said
"We know what weaknesses we need to tackle and where we need to be even more diligent for the coming races in order to win.
“You have to confront each issue, analyse it properly and come up with a plan for how to avoid repeating those mistakes in the future. This is an exercise which we have done a number of times over the last few years.”
Mercedes has dominated the Russian Grand Prix since its arrival on the calendar in 2014, having taken every pole position, victory and led each lap of racing at the Sochi Autodrom.
Wolff, however, has warned that Mercedes’ supremacy at the former Winter Olympics venue is no guarantee that it will be able to emerge on top this weekend.
“It's a totally different kind of track this weekend in Sochi [to Sakhir] and, in this season with these new regulations, you can't take anything for granted,” said Wolff.
“The trophies of previous years don't guarantee that we'll be winning in Russia when you have a very fierce competitor like we do in Ferrari.
“We'll take it one step at a time, start the weekend well and hopefully have a good result on Sunday.”
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