Lewis Hamilton & George Russell Slapped With Brutal Reality Check as Daunting Test Tipped to Expose Mercedes’ Long Standing Weakness

After weeks of teasing the new upgrades, Mercedes finally introduced the new sidepod design in Monaco and reaped rewards in Barcelona. However, such immediate results from an upgrade package are out of the ordinary. This is exactly why some experts believe that even though Lewis Hamilton and Co. raced brilliantly in Spain, it could be a one-off scenario. In fact, the entire Mercedes team is warned about getting overconfident from the result.

The Former driver turned commentator and columnist Jolyon Palmer penned this opinion on his latest blog on Formula1.com. He mentioned how Spain has always been favorable to the German team. The 2022 edition was proof of that. This is exactly why Palmer believes Mercedes and its men shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves.

“They have significant upgrades on the car and on the face of it, it looks like they are yielding immediate results. However, this has always been a strong Mercedes circuit,” wrote Palmer in his column.

“It’s more likely that whilst the upgrades worked, the track characteristics also enhanced their performance. Canada in a couple of weeks’ time might be a more interesting comparison, as it’s more akin to the street circuits we’ve had thus far,” he concluded.

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Apart from the fact that Canada will be a real test for Mercedes, Palmer believes the team’s chief rivals did not experience a good weekend as well. We are not talking about Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as he is still miles ahead of Mercedes.

Apart from the favorable track, Palmer believes Lewis Hamilton and Co. also got a helping hand from their rivals

Red Bull is currently head and shoulders above the rest of the grid. So currently, Mercedes needs to focus on fighting Aston Martin and Ferrari. As one could tell, both teams did not have a positive weekend in Spain, which could’ve added to Mercedes’s glory.

“The gap to Red Bull and Max Verstappen remains large though and Mercedes were also flattered by their rival’s underperforming. Aston Martin was subdued in Spain. And then there’s Ferrari, a team that also had upgrades on this weekend but seemed to go backward rapidly,” added Palmer.

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However, overconfidence is not the mood in the Mercedes garage and Toto Wolff’s recent statement is proof of that. The boss is keeping the team cautious and prepared for setbacks. Although Canada should give more insight into the W14’s new potential.