Wolff: We can't challenge for victories every weekend

The Brackley-based outfit endured a difficult start to the 2024 Formula 1 season, failing to secure even a podium in the opening eight Grand Prix races. This was blamed on a failure to understand the intricacies of the W15 car and a lack of consistency in performance.

However, the team brought upgrades prior to the Canadian Grand Prix which dramatically improved pace, allowing George Russell to take pole position and ultimately finish the race in P3. Since then, the Silver Arrows have consistently challenged for podiums and victories alongside Red Bull and McLaren with Ferrari taking their place as the fourth-best team.

Russell was fortunate to take the chequered flag first in Austria when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris derailed each other's races in the closing stages. Lewis Hamilton then made it two wins in two as he ended a near 1000-day winless run to claim his ninth British Grand Prix victory.

With momentum clearly on Mercedes' side, they will be hoping to continue their hot streak at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. However, with a plethora of slow and medium-speed corners and few straights, the Hungaroring will provide a very different challenge compared to the high-speed Red Bull Ring and Silverstone Circuit suited to the Mercedes package.

In a press release sent out by Mercedes, Wolff opted to stifle expectations for the Hungarian Grand Prix despite recent successes. He said: "We head into the upcoming double header with momentum. We have continued to make progress with the W15 in recent races. That has led to headline results in Austria and Silverstone.

"However, we know we don’t yet have a car that can challenge for victories every weekend. The team is working hard to bring more steps of performance that we hope will enable us to do that. Those efforts will continue over the next two races and right up until shutdown," added the Mercedes Team Principal.

Wolff also stressed the challenge presented by the tricky Hungaroring. He continued: "The Hungaroring is different in character to the past couple of circuits. Unlike Silverstone, it features plenty of tight and twisty sections, with just one meaningful straight.

"It does contain some high-speed corners too however and it will therefore be another good examination of the gains we’ve made across the corner speed range.

"We head into the weekend focused on doing the best job we can. We hope to maintain this positive trajectory and finish the first half of the season as strongly as possible," concluded the Austrian boss.

The Hungarian Grand Prix commences at 14:00 BST (15:00 local time) on Sunday July 21.