Danica Patrick thinks Mercedes are "not even cautiously optimistic" about their chances at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.
The Silver Arrows were excellent two weeks ago in Barcelona. On a track which suited their upgraded car, Lewis Hamilton finished second while George Russell climbed from 12th on the grid to join him on the podium.
But things are expected to be trickier for them in Montreal. All the noises from team boss Toto Wolff and other senior staff have been about expecting a tougher time.
Nevertheless, the timesheets made for nice reading from their perspective after Friday practice. They occupied the top two spots, sparking suggestions they may be on for another strong result on Sunday.
Both Hamilton and Russell were cautious as they spoke to the media after that session. And Sky Sports pundit Patrick thinks the Silver Arrows are purposely refusing to get their hopes up.
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"At the very top before FP1, I said, 'They're not even cautiously optimistic'," she said. "I feel like it's almost like a, 'Well, let's [not] count our chicks before they hatch' kind of thing.
"Like okay, it's good, but let's be good on race day and then we can really count it. I still think that obviously they're taking big steps forward and that's something to be excited about. I think you can feel that every now and again from them."
Andrew Shovlin doubted Mercedes' chances of challenging Red Bull in Montreal (Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team)Speaking ahead of this weekend's action, Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admitted their Barcelona result may have been flattered by the nature of the circuit. And he pointed out three other teams he expects his employer to be competing with, all behind favourites Red Bull.
He said: "We ended up with a really good balance and really good race pace [in Barcelona]. Now, where we are going to go next week, Montreal, it's a very different circuit. There are more low-speed corners, quite a lot of straight-line full throttle and we would expect more of a challenge there.
"We are not thinking that we are going in nipping at the heels of Red Bull. We are going in there prepared for a battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin, and maybe even Alpine."
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