Why Mercedes are ‘optimistic’ of Singapore bounce back
The W14 struggled for performance at the high-speed Monza, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing a low-key fifth and sixth at the Italian Grand Prix.
But Mercedes are hopeful that the high-downforce Marina Bay circuit, plus changes to the layout, will suit their car. As such, the team have set a target of returning to the podium for the first time in five races.
"There is a reason to think that the car will work better and that is because Singapore is a maximum downforce circuit," Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained.
"Our performance at the high downforce tracks like at Barcelona, Budapest, and even Zandvoort the car was working well, and we've had pretty strong performance.
“We're hoping to be able to be a bit quicker there and get back to a position where we can challenge for podiums. The track though does throw up some pretty unique challenges and we've also got some layout changes for this year.
“There is a sequence of four corners near the end of the lap that have been removed where the track used to go underneath a grandstand through a tunnel.
"That's now gone so we've got a longer straight which will change a little bit how the tyres are working. There is a bit less energy there but it's also an abrasive tarmac. We've got the softest three compounds so it's a pretty tough race on the tyres and it's also a bumpy street circuit.
"Added to that, the race is run at night. Plenty of challenges for us to try and tackle then but we are going there optimistic for a strong performance.”
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has cautioned against making predictions, having been burned in the past.
"From last year into this year we need to be careful with our predictions,” he said. “We could go 'high downforce, hurray, we'll be right behind Red Bull next week' but we don't know, that's the truth.
"The teams from second to sixth can be pretty close together - that's us, Ferrari and McLaren and Aston Martin.
“But we are consistently scoring with two cars, we are solidly second in the championship, hopefully soon third in the drivers' championship with Lewis, so we are delivering the best possible job considering the car's lack of performance."
