Mercedes appear to have made some improvements and found some more pace in their 2022 challenger since the last Grand Prix in Miami. The Brackley-based team brought upgrades to the W13 for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend including an aero update. Although only the first day of practice sessions has been completed in Barcelona, Mercedes' strong FP2 results show that they are making gradual progress in the right direction.  

While key figures at Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, and Andrew Shovlin believe there has been evidence of progress made in the W13’s performance after a solid FP2 session, teammate George Russell remained skeptical. 

So far this season, Hamilton has expressed dissatisfaction overall with the W13's performance and pace. The seven-time World Champion’s best result after five races has been a third-place podium which he scored in the opening race in Bahrain. However, after achieving a third-place result in FP2 from P6 in FP1, Hamilton appeared optimistic and positive about the new updates that Mercedes has implemented to the car.     

After the second practice session in Barcelona, Hamilton said he felt: “Positive!”

The 37-year-old British driver then expressed his gratitude to the team and the people at the Mercedes headquarters in Brackley: “Super happy with the progress, so a big, big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for not giving up and for continuing to push.

“We’re not the quickest yet, but we’re on our way. This is the first time that we’ve driven down the straight without bouncing. We still have some bouncing, but it’s way better and [we're] starting to eke out a bit of the potential in that car.”

“Well, it’s still tough out there with the car but it’s much nicer than it’s been before. So yeah, really grateful for those upgrades – we now need to just fine-tune them into the next session tonight. Lots of data to go over to try and position the car… I think we can get it into a better place for tomorrow so that we can tackle the heels of the guys up ahead.”

Russell was fourth fastest in FP1 and finished second behind Charles Leclerc in  FP2. The 24-year-old approached his strong FP2 result in a more cautious and realistic manner.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” said Russell having been asked if he was happy with the updates. “Because in Miami we were quickest on Friday and obviously here we are second, so let’s see. The car is definitely acting differently,” Russell said.

“We’ve got different limitations this time. We definitely don’t have the porpoising in the straights, which is good, but we are still experiencing a bit here and there in the corners, which ultimately you need to dial out in the corners, and I think the Red Bulls still look very, very strong.

“They look the team to be reckoned with at the moment and yes, we need to go through the data.”

Team Principal Toto Wolff stated how proud he was of the progress that both the Mercedes Brixworth engine division and the Brackley factory have made so far while admitting that there is room for improvement on the chassis side of the W13.

“Both companies have worked so hard. Brixworth have really gained land against the other power unit manufacturers and it’s fantastic to see that, and I’m really proud. And on the chassis side, we’re getting there,” Wolff said.

“We’ve had a second solid Friday like we had in Miami, just we have to see when the grip keeps coming tomorrow, whether we’re able to keep that kind of performance and at least be in the mix or solid in the top three… So, progress, but not exuberance and ecstasy.”

Andrew Shovlin trackside engineering director at Mercedes, discussed the updates the team has brought to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix and reveals that after a solid first day of practice on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track, the car appears to be in its normal state at the moment.

Shovlin also explains that the changes made to the W13 include less bouncing with the new aero update and the installation of a second power unit for both Hamilton and Russell.

“It’s been a solid start to the weekend, the car is behaving more normally here in Barcelona. We’ve made progress on reducing the bouncing with this aero update and the pace looks to be a step forward; not quite at the level of Red Bull and Ferrari but we’ve hopefully pulled ourselves out of the midfield group,” Shovlin said.

“We’ve also had a smooth introduction for the second power unit with both drivers. The hot conditions here are giving the tyres a tough time, it’s very easy to overheat them and the degradation rates are high which should make the strategy quite interesting.

"We’ll be running in the simulator in Brackley tonight, trying to find a bit more time in the car but at least we have a good platform to base this on and hopefully we can find a little bit more to carry into tomorrow."