Mercedes: "We don't know exactly where Red Bull will be tomorrow"

During qualifying at the Silverstone circuit, it was again a dominant display by Mercedes. Something that seemed less obvious after yesterday. Despite the enormous advantage over Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, Mercedes remains cautious.

"It's not been easy for him and Valtteri to put the laps together here", said Andrew Shovlin of Mercedes after qualifying. "The wind has a big effect on the car balance and as soon as you start sliding, the tyre temperatures rise, and you lose grip." 

"The conditions may have moved in our favour today, but we were also doing a better job of managing the tyre temperatures at the start of the lap," said Shovlin.

Red Bull Racing always stronger on Sunday

That's why the lead this weekend is even bigger than it was during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Yet Mercedes never wants to cheer too early. Red Bull Racing showed on Friday that the shape dip at the Hungaroring is temporary and Verstappen should be able to put some pressure on the Mercedes drivers.

"We're looking forward to the race tomorrow; we don't quite know where Red Bull are on pace. They looked very close to us on the long runs yesterday and have generally looked better in race trim than qualifying so we will be prepared for a fight and won't be taking anything for granted."