Mercedes Braces for Tougher Challenge in Canadian Grand Prix

Next week's Canadian Grand Prix will be a tougher weekend for the Silver Arrows due to the low-downforce nature of Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, according to Mercedes track director Andrew Shovlin. The track is considered to be the opposite of Barcelona, where the W14 was competitive with redesigned sidepods.

In an interview during Mercedes' post-race debrief on Wednesday, Shovlin stated that "the update kit works very well around circuits like Barcelona with a lot of high-speed performance." He also mentioned that they ended up with good balance and race pace on Sunday. However, he expects Montreal to be much different from Spain and anticipates it to pose more challenges as there are many low-speed corners and several straight-line full throttle sections.

Shovlin is not expecting them to be able to nip at the heels of Red Bull yet, but rather to get caught up in the pack behind them. These include Aston Martin and Ferrari.

The team aims to find every little bit of performance possible but acknowledges how challenging this may prove given how tight the competition has been this season so far. As per Shovlin himself - "The way the grid stacks up now you can be P2 or you can be P10, and there are only a few tenths in it."

After their comprehensive upgrade package delivered substantial results last week following Lewis Hamilton’s second-place finish behind Max Verstappen (who won by over 20 seconds) alongside George Russell – It remains uncertain whether they will be able to maintain this momentum in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Despite next week's concerns, Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff said their result from Spain demonstrated "that we are making progress," adding that "we need every single week now as a kind of development week." He also expressed confidence that they would continue improving throughout the season and find ways to win races once again.

In conclusion, while Canada may prove challenging for Mercedes’ new-look W14 Formula One car due to its low-downforce nature compared with Barcelona - Shovlin believes it will still make for great racing, which should make fans excited nevertheless.