Toto Wolff has warned Mercedes fans not to expect “a miracle” revival from his team despite the optimism surrounding upcoming development.
Wolff recently revealed the W14 is being turned upside down in a bid to extract the inherent goodness Mercedes knows exists within it.
The team recognised very early this season that it was foolhardy to persist with its concept from last year, and set about working on a change of philosophy that is already being tested in the wind tunnel.
Wolff has made clear that what is being viewed at present is highly encouraging and will hopefully thrust Mercedes back toward the front of the grid in potentially challenging Red Bull.
“We had a bit of a moment where it became so much clearer after the Bahrain race,” said Wolff, speaking to Sky Sports F1.
“We were trying to make something work that we really weren’t able to unlock, but now the path is clear.
“It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to take time but we know where we’re heading to.
“We’re doing good steps with developments, but you’ve got to run them, confirm them, produce them
“So we are not looking at an introduction before Imola. We want to do it right and it’s going in a good direction.
“But we shouldn’t expect a miracle where we’re on pole by half-a-second. I think it’s more about consolidating our pace between Ferrari, Aston Martin, and us. That would be a good step.”
Button senses confidence in Mercedes
It means for the next two races in Azerbaijan and Miami in late April-early May, despite the four-week gap between the event in Baku and Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, the team “won’t be adding performance”, according to Wolff.
“It’s about finding the best set-up solutions and (getting) the tyre in the right window,” he added.
Former F1 champion Jenson Button believes Mercedes is confident with what it has in the pipeline as he senses a “very different” atmosphere in contrast to what he has witnessed before.
“Compared to last year they were all running around and were like ‘What’s going on? What have we done wrong?'” said Button.
“But now it seems a lot more relaxed there. They’re confident in where they are, confident in where they need to go. They’re in a good position.”
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