Mercedes may have locked out the front row for the Sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix, but Toto Wolff was far from celebrating as if the job was done. Despite George Russell securing Sprint pole and Andrea Kimi Antonelli completing a dominant-looking Mercedes one-two, the Brackley team principal made it clear that he believes the fight in Montreal is still wide open.
Mercedes arrived in Canada with a substantial upgrade package for the W17, introducing aerodynamic and mechanical changes aimed at strengthening its advantage over the competition. On paper, the result looked ideal. In reality, Toto Wolff expected an even bigger performance margin.
That reaction underlines just how competitive the current Formula 1 landscape remains, particularly with Ferrari and McLaren still seen as genuine threats over the remainder of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Toto Wolff expected more from Mercedes in Montreal
Speaking after Sprint Qualifying, Toto Wolff admitted that although the result was positive, the overall pace of the Mercedes package did not fully meet internal expectations.
The Austrian suggested that Lewis Hamilton’s pace throughout the session served as an important benchmark, reinforcing the idea that Ferrari remains closer than the final classification may suggest.
According to Toto Wolff, had Lewis Hamilton completed a cleaner final lap, the Ferrari driver could have been much closer to Mercedes’ benchmark time, which is why the front-row lockout did not leave the Mercedes boss fully satisfied. He explained that the team had expected the new upgrade package to deliver an even more decisive advantage, especially considering the scale of changes introduced for Montreal.
While acknowledging the obvious strength of securing first and second, Toto Wolff made clear that the margin over the opposition was not large enough to feel entirely comfortable.
Ferrari and McLaren still in the fight
The Mercedes team principal also identified Ferrari and McLaren as the two biggest concerns heading into the Sprint race and the rest of the weekend.
Even though Mercedes currently appears to have the strongest overall package in Montreal, Toto Wolff stressed that Formula 1 momentum can shift quickly, particularly across a Sprint weekend where setup understanding continues to evolve.
Ferrari, in particular, remains an unpredictable rival. Although the SF-26 is clearly compromised by its power unit deficit on Montreal’s long straights, the car has still shown encouraging pace in technical sections, especially through lower and medium-speed corners where chassis balance plays a greater role. Lewis Hamilton’s competitiveness throughout Friday reinforced that impression, despite Ferrari ultimately only securing the third row with Lewis Hamilton in fifth and Charles Leclerc in sixth.
McLaren also remains firmly in the conversation, particularly with its ability to extract performance late in qualifying runs.
Mercedes continues working on launch improvements
Another important area Mercedes continues to monitor is race starts — a weakness that has repeatedly limited opportunities earlier this season.
The team introduced further modifications to its electronic systems in Canada as part of its ongoing effort to improve launch consistency, and early signs appear encouraging, even if no definitive conclusions have been drawn yet. The Sprint race will provide the first real opportunity to judge whether those changes genuinely translate into better performance off the line under race conditions.
For now, Mercedes may hold the advantage — but Toto Wolff’s caution makes one thing clear: the Canadian Grand Prix battle is far from settled.
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