Toto Wolff optimistic Mercedes will make improvements in Austrian GP

Spielberg [Austria], June 30 : Toto Wolff is optimistic Mercedes team will continue to show progress at the upcoming Austrian GP.

Mercedes claimed a double podium in Spain and Lewis Hamilton was third in Canada. Friday features a single practice session and qualifying for Sunday's race with Saturday a standalone sprint day.

The Silver Arrows had achieved a double podium result at the Spanish GP since introducing a revamped concept and significant modifications at the Monaco Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton placed third at the Canadian Grand Prix last time around.

Wolff hoped his team will show more improvement in Austria as they seek to be Red Bull's closest challengers once again.

"There were plenty of positives to take from the last race in Canada," Sky Sports quoted Wolff saying.

"Although we didn't get both cars to the chequered flag, a podium was a solid result and we saw encouraging signs from our updated package. It's a short lap in Spielberg and looks straightforward on paper; several long straights broken up by a range of slow, medium-speed and fast corners. But it's a challenging one to put together and get right.

"We will aim to build on the momentum we have generated over the past two races and continue our positive trajectory with the car. It's a venue where the W14 should perform better than in Canada, but we won't take anything for granted. As always, we will be working hard to maximise our performance and deliver strong results," said Wolff.

In Montreal, Mercedes were once again lagging behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso after the Spaniard beat Hamilton in a protracted race-long struggle for second position.

The Sprint will be used in the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend for the second time this season, and Alonso acknowledged that Aston Martin might be at a slight disadvantage due to the format's one-hour practice limit.

"I think the Sprint weekend will not be ideal for us," he said.

"We still have more time maybe of free practice with our new upgraded car. We still need to understand and optimise the package a little bit and in Austria, obviously with the Sprint, we will have only FP1 to do that. But yeah, it is what it is," Wolff said.

"The circuit will be good and maybe better for the package as well, this one with a strange layout, let's say. Maybe good for Ferrari, historically here as well with a long straight and short corners so maybe Austria we have a little bit more pace."