Wolff urges Mercedes to work on the performance of the W15 in high temperatures

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff insists that his outfit still needs to find a remedy to the issues that usually hinder the performance of the W15 in high temperatures.

Having won two consecutive races in Austria and Great Britain, Mercedes endured some setbacks at the Hungarian Grand Prix. George Russell failed to set a competitive time in challenging conditions in the opening qualifying segment, thus securing only P17 on the grid.

The Briton managed to work his way up to P8 in the race thanks to an aggressive offset strategy, but it was still disappointing given the pace he had showed earlier on the weekend.

His team-mate Lewis Hamilton did not encounter any misfortunes at the Hungaroring, but he complained about the balance of his W15. The Briton qualified only fifth on Saturday, and was unable to challenge the two McLarens for the win.

Despite the small setback in Mogyoród, Mercedes find themselves on an upward trajectory. Before Canada, the best Grand Prix finish had been P5 with George in Bahrain and Monaco. Since Montreal the team has achieved two wins, two pole positions, and scored podiums in each of the past five races.

Expanding on his team's current form, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff noted: "We had into the final race before the summer break on a run of five consecutive podium finishes.

"We are therefore looking to continue that momentum and finish the first half of the season strongly. We are on a positive trajectory and that is encouraging."

Since China in April, four different teams and six different drivers have tasted victory. A much-changed outlook from F1 of the past two seasons.

"The pack at the front is close and we will have to be at our best to be in contention. Whilst we are lacking a little bit of pace compared to some of our competitors, we continue to bring performance to the car.

"It is not yet enough to fight for victories consistently every weekend, but has enabled us to be in contention for the top-three more regularly."

Reflecting on the Budapest race, the Austrian added: "Last weekend in Hungary was not straightforward. We qualified out of position and left ourselves with plenty of work to do.

"We were able to race hard on Sunday though and score solid points, including Lewis claiming his 200th podium in F1 which is a superb achievement."

Budapest and Spa may be a week apart on the calendar but are likely to be poles apart in terms of temperature.

"It was positive to see the steps we have made in those hotter conditions, although there is more work to do. Spa is a very different challenge to Budapest.

"With cooler temperatures and a much more high-speed layout, it will be interesting to see how the W15 performs compared to our rivals," concluded Wolff.