that it must get on top of its reliability problems or risk being
caught by its rivals. While the Brackley-based outfit has largely
dominated the start of the season with six wins from seven races,
its performance advantage has shrunk considerably. Not only are its
rivals, particularly Ferrari, catching up, but they are also taking
big points out of Mercedes’ advantage. This is due to numerous
reliability problems. Mercedes has suffered several power
unit-related issues, which saw George Russell retire in Canada and
Kimi Antonelli retire in Barcelona. It is costing the German
manufacturer valuable points, with Wolff knowing ahead of this
weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix that it cannot continue. “Barcelona
acted as a benchmark for our current performance and, having won
the first six races, offered a reality check,” said Wolff. “Others
have gained ground quickly and we need to respond. We are in a
fight for both championships but must improve if we want to come
out on top come the end of the season. “Our Achilles heel so far
has been reliability. We have lost a large amount of points across
both cars in recent races; if we don’t put together clean weekends,
our competitors will happily take advantage.” In a bid to end its
reliability trouble, Mercedes is introducing an upgrade package at
the Red Bull Ring, featuring performance and reliability
improvements. “We are not standing still in our efforts; we will
bring a few updates to Austria this weekend with a focus on
improving both performance and reliability,” added Wolff. “The
margins are tight, and will be even tighter around Spielberg given
the length of the lap. We need to put together a better weekend
than we have in recent races but if we can deliver to our maximum,
then we know we can challenge for victory.”