Mercedes does not see the negative effects of the modifications in Monaco

The team had planned to test the new solutions a week ago in Imola. The Emilia Romagna GP, which was canceled at the last minute due to flooding, hampered the German team’s plans.

Despite the problems of testing new parts, on a busy and technically demanding track, the team decided to take a risk and at least try new parts, and these, apart from the most surprising changes in the form of new cooling parts, included a new front suspension and floor.

Lewis Hamilton finished the second practice in sixth place, while George Russell was 12th.

“It’s hard to judge Monaco,” said Wolff when asked how the new parts are performing. “At least we didn’t see any behavior that we could describe as bad.”

Asked if the car offered the confidence its drivers were looking for, he replied: “I’ve never heard a driver say he feels better in Monaco!”

“It’s always on the edge here. We had an example of that with Carlos. There’s not a lot of praise for the car here, but we’re definitely going in the right direction.”

Wolff also stressed that he was very proud that his team was able to deliver a huge package of improvements to the track.

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “We have a completely new body, front suspension and floor.”

“They did a great job at Brackley. Now this is our new base and we need to keep working on it.”

Wolff says that after Red Bull’s initial problems in the first practice session, Max Verstappen returned to his normal form in the second and showed that he is ahead of the pace of the race.

“Max was in his league for a long time. For one lap we both have close times, at least today was the case, but for a long time you could see he was level and there was no tire damage. They are doing a good job here.”