Mercedes is hopeful that it will return to strong form at this weekend’s French Grand Prix around a more “traditional” circuit.
The reigning world champions have struggled at the last two rounds around the street tracks of Monaco and Baku, with rivals Red Bull taking both victories.
Mercedes has secured the two race wins at the Circuit Paul Ricard since its arrival to the Formula 1 schedule in 2018.
Ahead of the 2021 edition of the event, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is hopeful that his team will restore its vigorous competitive edge following a duo of difficult weekends.
“In Monaco and Baku we put the W12 in a window where only one of our drivers found the confidence to unlock the performance of the car – Valtteri [Bottas] in Monaco and Lewis [Hamilton] in Baku,” Wolff said.
“In such a close, intense title fight, we need to deliver a car at each race which both our drivers can confidently push to its limits.
“The French Grand Prix means returning to a more traditional circuit and hopefully, better fortunes for us.
“It is a track we’ve gone well at in the past and, with a wide range of corner speeds that will test the car in every aspect, it’s an interesting challenge for us to tackle.
“We’re six races into the season and there’s still a long way to go. It’s looking very close at the front and we’re not expecting that to change anytime soon.
“We’ll be looking to turn our learnings from recent weeks into performance and to deliver a much stronger weekend with both cars.”
Mercedes currently sits second in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing Red Bull by 26 points.
“Wibble wibble wibble”, said Wolff.