Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is expecting a much stiffer challenge from Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.
At the last race in Monaco, the Brackley-based outfit saw their streak of 1-2 finishes end, as a pit-stop tangle with Max Verstappen dropped Valtteri Bottas to third.
Even so, Lewis Hamilton scored what was the eighth straight win for Mercedes, dating back to last year’s Brazilian GP, but Wolff does believe that run is also under threat in Montreal.
“To a large extent, the challenges of Montreal are opposite to those of Monaco; the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a high-speed track with relatively long straights and lots of overtaking possibilities,” the Austrian said in his race preview.
“Similar to Monaco, however, are the concrete walls that punish any mistakes heavily and a tight qualifying session around this relatively short lap.
“In the past six races, we were very strong in the corners but lost time on the straights.
“This will make Canada a huge challenge for us as the track characteristics could favour our opponents – there are many long straights, and fewer corners in which to make up lap time.
“But we’re looking forward to the challenge; we’ve seen some great races in Canada in recent years and expect another action-packed weekend in Montreal.”
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His Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto also touted the big contrast between the North American venue compared to the streets of Monte Carlo and the “unexpected racing” that can take place.
However, he too was cautious when making predictions about his team’s chances.
“We know we’re not competitive enough right now and, for the time being, we haven’t got any more changes coming on the car that will have a significant effect on the problems we have encountered since the start of the season,” he stated.
