New power units for Mercedes in Canada

Mercedes have confirmed via team boss Toto Wolff that their constructor team, as well as their customers Force India and Williams, will receive their second power unit of the season for the upcoming Canada Grand Prix this weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

For the 2018 campaign, teams will be forced to stretch out just three engines over the course of the season, and Mercedes have opted to utilise their second unit of the three exactly one-third into the season, according to Wolff.

"Canada marks the one-third point of the 2018 season," said the Mercedes boss.

"After six races, we can see that we are in a stronger position in both Championships than we were 12 months ago.

"But we also know that the battle is fiercer, with ourselves, Ferrari and Red Bull in the contention for race wins every weekend; there is not a moment to relax.

"We expect a number of teams to take their scheduled second power units this weekend, including all the Mercedes-powered cars, and we are pushing hard to bring more performance to the car as soon as possible.

"It will be a close-fought weekend - as it has been at every race so far this year. We're looking forward to the challenge."

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The Monaco Grand Prix was a forgettable weekend for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton only managing a third-place finish, but Wolff is hoping for more from Montreal.

"Monaco was a weekend of damage limitation for us – we headed there expecting to have the third fastest car and that's how it proved," Wolff continued.

"In recent years, Mercedes has performed well in Montreal - and it's one of Lewis [Hamilton's] most successful circuits, too.

"However, past performances bring no guarantee of success this year. We will need to make sure we get the most from all the tyre compounds, including the Hypersoft, if we want to come out on top this weekend."

The Grand Prix in Monte Carlo has been labelled as boring by fans, and indeed some drivers including Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, but Wolff thinks Montreal will be a return to exciting racing.

"Montreal is a venue that almost always delivers an action-packed race. It's a circuit where overtaking is relatively straightforward, speeds are high, and the cars are pushed to their limits.

"Likewise, the concrete walls punish any mistakes heavily but the drivers need the confidence to use all of the track in qualifying, when it usually comes down to very small margins around a short lap."