Mercedes enjoyed an excellent result in Montreal, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finishing third and fourth, respectively. The FIA regulation helped with the porpoising massively and the W13 looked pacey. The brilliantly executed race allowed the drivers to take home 27 points.

Realistically, however, the W13 is still nowhere near the leaders Red Bull and Ferrari. And the engineers back in Brackley have accepted the unmatchable lack in pace compared to the front two. The only area where Mercedes can catch up with the leaders is their reliability and tire management.

Although all the experiments are slowly pushing them in the right direction, they are extremely tricky to manage. Hamilton explained, “Our setup window is extremely small. It’s our biggest task every weekend to hit it. We went two different ways on Friday and mine was a disaster.” (translated by Google)

The experiments have been following a tricky trend of hit and miss so far this season. And the Silver Arrows need a permanent solution to their shortcomings. However, that still won’t be enough to catch the Red Bull and Ferrari up front.

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A Mercedes team member revealed, “Our performance at the moment only depends on the setup. But no setup in the world makes a Red Bull or Ferrari out of this car.”

Lewis Hamilton hoping for the experimental role switch within the Mercedes paddock

Mercedes’s season so far in a word has been ‘experimental’ and Hamilton is tired of playing his part in it. The seven-time world champion, in hopes of his eighth, wouldn’t have expected a ‘guinea pig’ role in the team. However, that has been the case so far this season as Mercedes hopes to eradicate the bouncing in the W13.

However, after finishing third in the Canadian GP, Hamilton is hoping George Russell would take over for the second part of the season. “Maybe in the second half of the season, George can do the experiments!” Hamilton joked.

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The home race for both Mercedes men is up next. And the Mercedes Brits will hope for the same, if not a better result at the British GP.