Toto Wolff cautions of "several races" as Mercedes plans further upgrades at Imola

Mercedes leader Toto Wolff anticipates the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and discusses potential upgrades for the weekend.

Toto Wolff believes that “several races” will be needed before Mercedes can fully apply the insights gained from the first six races of the 2024 F1 season.

Mercedes has had a disappointing beginning to the season, currently sitting in fourth place in the F1 constructors’ championship.

So far, the team based in Brackley has not achieved a podium finish this year and seems to be trailing further behind Red Bull than ever.

The Mercedes W14 has been beset by inconsistencies, though it occasionally demonstrates a promising pace.

During the last segment of the race following the Safety Car, Lewis Hamilton managed to maintain a position within DRS range of Sergio Perez.

As the weekend approaches at Imola, Toto Wolff notes that despite Mercedes introducing “more updates,” significant improvements are not expected just yet.

“We are now one quarter of the way through the season,” he explained. “The first six races have not been straightforward, but we have built a clear understanding of where we need to improve and shaped a clear path forward to tackle that.

“It will be several races before we see this bear fruit, but everyone is working hard to bring them as soon as is possible. In the meantime, we will be looking to maximise the package we have.”

"We are bringing some more updates to Imola and hopefully they push us in the right direction.”

Following consecutive sprint weekends, Imola will switch back to Formula 1's conventional schedule with three practice sessions.

Amid Mercedes' varying performance in 2024, Wolff is pleased with the return to the standard timetable.

“After two Sprints in a row, we now go back to the more usual weekend format. It affords us more time to refine the set-up, but Imola is still a demanding circuit that challenges both the car and the driver,” he stated.

“It has several fast and flowing sections, but some low-speed corners too and a tricky, bumpy surface. It's narrow, which makes overtaking difficult, and has plenty of elevation. All that combines to provide a stern test and one we're looking forward to.”