Wolff: We need to be careful with our Singapore predictions

Mercedes had a tough weekend at Monza, their W14 not enjoying the straights of the classic Italian Formula 1 venue, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished the race fifth and sixth respectively.

But the eight-time F1 Constructors' Champions are fancying their chances of a better result this weekend at Singapore, a track that requires more downforce, which means the W14 might behave well for a change.

Mercedes director of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin said, quoted by Sky Sports F1: "There is a reason to think that the car will work better and that is because Singapore is a maximum downforce circuit.

"Our performance at the high downforce tracks like at Barcelona, Budapest, and even Zandvoort the car was working well, and we've had pretty strong performance," he added. "We're hoping to be able to be a bit quicker there and get back to a position where we can challenge for podiums.

"The track though does throw up some pretty unique challenges and we've also got some layout changes for this year. There is a sequence of four corners near the end of the lap that have been removed where the track used to go underneath a grandstand through a tunnel," he pointed out.

"That's now gone so we've got a longer straight which will change a little bit how the tyres are working. There is a bit less energy there but it's also an abrasive tarmac. We've got the softest three compounds so it's a pretty tough race on the tyres and it's also a bumpy street circuit.

"Added to that, the race is run at night. Plenty of challenges for us to try and tackle then but we are going there optimistic for a strong performance," Shovlin concluded.

Wolff, on the other hand was wary of being too optimistic, he said: "From last year into this year we need to be careful with our predictions. We could go 'high downforce, hurray, we'll be right behind Red Bull next week' but we don't know, that's the truth.

"The teams from second to sixth can be pretty close together - that's us, Ferrari and McLaren and Aston Martin. But we are consistently scoring with two cars, we are solidly second in the championship, hopefully soon third in the drivers' championship with Lewis, so we are delivering the best possible job considering the car's lack of performance," he explained.

However, in Mercedes' Singapore preview, the Austrian tried to see the glass half full, he added: "We maximized the result in Monza with the package we had. That will be important across the rest of the season to secure second in the Constructors'.

"At a circuit that didn't necessarily suit the characteristics of our car, we were still competitive. It's encouraging to see that the W14 is performing well across a range of tracks. We've had some time to debrief an intense double header and we're now heading into another one.

"Singapore is a unique challenge for every team," Wolff pointed out. "The hot and humid conditions are tough on the drivers, team members and the cars. It's a bumpy track and there are some changes to the layout for this year, too. It should make the lap more flowing and slightly kinder on the tyres.

"The battle with our nearest competitors is incredibly close. It's hard to predict just how the order will shake out each weekend. Nonetheless, we typically perform better on high downforce tracks, so we're hopeful of a competitive showing," the Mercedes boss concluded.

Mercedes are currently second in the 2023 F1 Constructors' Champions a whopping 310 points behind leaders Red Bull.