Mercedes are "on a positive trajectory" says Wolff ahead of Austria

While Wolff is cautious, we can be bullish on his behalf in the wake of strong showings at the Canadian GP and most recently at the Spanish GP. Two podiums in two races were their first in this campaign. While a victory still eludes Lewis Hamilton since 2021, he was on the Barcelona podium. Mercedes seem closer to the sharp end than they have been for some time, their 'performance graph' is northbound for a change.

Looking ahead to the forthcoming Round 11 of the 2024 F1 World Championship in Austria, at Red Bull's home track, Wolff said in the Merc preview: "We came away from the [Barcelona] weekend with solid points but we know there is more work to do to be in with a realistic chance of fighting for victories. That work is ongoing, and we are on a positive trajectory."

The W15 worked well on the point-and-squirt Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in Montreal, as well as the more technical, full-flowing Circuit de Catalunya. Suggesting a better all-round car for Mercedes to deal with. With speed in the Power Unit too as George Russell's pole in Canada showed. Ditto the Merc-powered McLaren team, who arguably had the best car in Spain.

Wolff continued: "The team has worked hard to improve the W15 at circuits with a wide corner speed range. Those incremental gains helped us build on the momentum from Montreal. Although we didn't have the ultimate pace to compete for the win, it was encouraging to be in the mix.

"Lewis scored a well-deserved podium and George managed his final stint well to take P4," reflected Wolff. Russell is P7 in the F1 Drivers' standings after ten rounds, with Hamilton P8. Mercedes are P4 in the Constructors' points standings.

Red Bull Ring will provide the next test for Mercedes's progress, The low one-minute lap times will ensure a very tight pecking order this weekend in Spielberg. Last year they were half a second off the pace of Max Verstappen's pole-winning time of 1:04.391s. On race day they laboured to P7 (Russell) and P8 (Hamilton).

But the outlook is more positive this time heading to Wolff's homeland: "We head to Austria looking to continue that positive progress. It is a very different circuit to last weekend. There is plenty of low to mid-speed content, punctuated by some longer straights. That will provide another challenge and reference point for our car.

"The group at the front of the field is tightly packed and we will have to be at our best to challenge for the podium once again," declared Wolff.