Mercedes upgrades 'are even slightly better than expected'

Following a run of wins from Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, Mercedes applied upgrades to their car for the British Grand Prix. But since the event in Silverstone, it's been difficult to assess how well the upgrades have worked. Only in the sprint qualifying race have Mercedes and Red Bull been in a direct battle. 

The infamous crash at Silverstone ended Verstappen's Grand Prix whilst Sergio Perez sat in the midfield. And in Hungary, the bowling alley crash from Valtteri Bottas gave Verstappen and Perez some serious damage and the RB16B wasn't running at full strength. And even after the summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix was never really an event. To the naked eye, this makes it hard to work out if the upgrades have worked. But Bottas suggests they have worked better than expected. 

Positive updates 

"It's been more positive. I think since Silverstone, we have managed to gain a bit of performance and it's been really close with Red Bull. Maybe they are even slightly better than I expected. It's still going to be really close, and it's fine margins. Track by track it can be a little bit different," Bottas told Ziggo Sport. 

As has been the case since 2017, Bottas has played second fiddle to Hamilton. His contract for the 2022 season is in serious doubt after strong performances from George Russell, but is Bottas the best number two?

"People can call me whatever, I'm just really trying to do my job. I have my own goals and targets. I want to win, but if it means we need to be a solid team, I need to do everything I can to get maximum points. You can call me that, but ultimately I don't really think about it. It's not easy to accept when you approach a new season and have big goals, and you're fighting for yourself and it doesn't go right, it's not easy but that's Formula 1," Bottas added.