LEWIS HAMILTON SENT 'NASTY' WARNING AS MERCEDES ENGINEERS STRUGGLE TO GET ON TOP OF THINGS
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been warned that the rear of their W14 is still "nasty". Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted the area is still of concern despite upgrades being in place for last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton was positive about the improvements to his car after finishing fourth on Sunday. Team-mate Russell ended the race in fifth but only after a mistake cost him a podium finish.
Mercedes had planned to make the upgrades at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix earlier this month but the race was cancelled due to floods in Imola. They decided to still go through with the changes in Monaco and early signs were good.
Wolff has praised his team back at the factories for what they have done so far. But he has also conceded there are still improvements to be made across the coming races, especially at the rear of the W12.
Wolff told reporters: "The car felt together, which is important, but it's still a bit nasty on the rear - so that's something which we need to dial out of the car for the next few races. But we have a new baseline and that's important to say: 'Okay, this is what we have now.'
"We've taken questions off the table where we weren't sure of, be it the front suspension or the extravaganza of our bodywork. So, let's work from here.
"We're good at grinding away and the work that was done in the factories to bring that update here to Monaco from our team, it was really a big effort."
Next up is the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona this weekend and Mercedes fans will go into the race with increased optimism. But Wolff doesn't expect all the issues to be ironed for a while yet.
He added: "I think Barcelona is not enough. I think we need to collect data. That's why we put it also here in Monaco, and to collect further analysis which we will do in Barcelona. The next one, Montreal, is a little bit of an outlier again.
"But over the next races hopefully we can really increase the performance of the car. But it's not going to suddenly be right there.
"That's why I'm actually pleased with the time gap that we had in Monaco. It was always a mediocre track for us, so that's okay."