Wolff: We need to deal with the problem of rubber overheating

      Of the Mercedes drivers, only George Russell reached the finish line in Barcelona, while Kimi Antonelli retired 11 laps before the finish due to problems with the power plant, which led to a drop in engine oil pressure. Before the exit, the Italian debutant was riding in 7th position. 

      George Russell (4th): "We finished in the same position we started from, which is probably the maximum we could have achieved. There were a lot of things happening on the track in the last ten laps, but I'm upset with the way I drove the first lap of the race.

      I got off to a good start, but then I fell back - both Ferrari drivers beat me. It seemed to me that I would have been able to catch up with Charles Leclair, but the situation changed somewhat when the safety car pulled out, and after contact with Verstappen, I no longer had the opportunity to pursue him.

      Overall, as we leave Barcelona, we can be pleased with the progress we are seeing this weekend. Finishing in 4th place speaks to the stability we have shown since the beginning of the season, and it is nice that after two difficult races we have returned to this level in terms of pace.

      Unfortunately, we are still losing a lot to the leaders, but we are gradually moving forward. We will try to continue to make progress on the next stage in Canada."

      Kimi Antonelli (exit): "I'm upset about the way today's race turned out. There were many difficulties due to the high temperatures affecting the behavior of the tires. Although we paid a lot of attention to long laps in practice on Friday, it was still very difficult to control the wear on the tires and keep up the pace.  

      Nevertheless, I was comfortable driving, I was driving pretty fast on Medium tires and showed stable results on the lap. Therefore, it is a pity that the day ended with a gathering. 

      Overall, this series of three races in a row was not easy, but now we will have time to adjust. At the same time, I'm looking forward to the weekend in Montreal, because it will be my first Canadian Grand Prix. The track is completely different there, and the surface characteristics are also completely different from those in Barcelona. 

      In addition, we will use the softest tires from the Pirelli line there and try to take into account the experience gained over the previous three weeks as much as possible, analyze everything and come back stronger in two weeks."

      Toto Wolff, team leader and Executive Director: "Overall, it was a difficult weekend, because, as usual, we have difficulties in high temperatures, and the main problem is related to the rubber performance. It was the same in Barcelona.  

      Of course, George's 4th result is not the level we want to compete at, although it is better than we expected before the start of the race. Unfortunately, the failure of the power plant on Kimi's car did not allow him to earn points.

      Now we have to analyze in detail all the information collected over this weekend in order to understand how we can make full use of the car's potential. We know which areas we need to pay special attention to: we need to deal with the problem of rubber overheating. 

      Fortunately, the end of the season is still a long way off, and we are determined to work hard to make progress with the car."