Canadian GP: Mercedes Expect Performance Boost After Confirming Engine Upgrade

Mercedes have announced they will have an upgraded power unit at the Canadian Grand Prix for all the cars powered by the Silver Arrows team’s engines on the Formula 1 grid.

There are two other teams — Force India and Williams — that use their engines. All six cars will have upgraded power units for the power sensitive Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.

It is the first upgrade of the season for Mercedes and they are expected to get more performance from the new unit. All teams are allowed to use a maximum of three power units during the course of the 21-race season.

Mercedes will join Renault who have also confirmed upgraded engines for most of the cars powered by the French manufacturer on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. It is yet unclear if Ferrari are also planning an upgrade or if they will wait to introduce it at a later race.

The Mercedes engines are the most powerful on the grid with Ferrari coming a close second after making a significant step forward from last season. The Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff admitted they are pushing to bring as much performance as possible to stay ahead of their rivals.

“We expect a number of teams to take their scheduled second Power Units this weekend, including all the Mercedes-powered cars," Wolff said, as quoted on Sky Sports. "We are pushing hard to bring more performance to the car as soon as possible."

Mercedes are currently ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull Racing in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships, but have faced a stiff challenge in all the races thus far. Wolff is clear that they will not stop pushing until the end of the season, with their two rivals not too far behind.

“We can see that we are in a stronger position in both championships than we were 12 months ago," the Mercedes chief added. "But we also know that the battle is fiercer, with ourselves, Ferrari and Red Bull in the contention for race wins every weekend; there is not a moment to relax."

Mercedes will come to the Canadian Grand Prix as favorites with the team having dominated the last few of seasons. Moreover, championship leader Lewis Hamilton rates the Montreal track as one of his favorites having won the race on six occasions in the past.

However, Wolff admits that their domination in the past will not guarantee a favorable result, especially since Mercedes have struggled to generate performance on the softer compound tires this season.

And the race in Canada will have the same compounds that were used in Monaco – the supersoft, the ultrasoft and the hypersoft tires – when Mercedes struggled to bring it up to the optimum temperature and extract the maximum performance from the tires.

“In recent years, Mercedes has performed well in Montreal - and it's one of Lewis' most successful circuits, too," Wolff added. "However, past performances bring no guarantee of success this year.”

"We will need to make sure we get the most from all the tyre compounds, including the Hypersoft, if we want to come out on top this weekend," he said.