Toto Wolff Targets F1 Comeback As Mercedes Hold Off On Suspension Upgrade

Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff hopes to rediscover their winning form when Formula One returns at the end of August after opting against a rear suspension upgrade.

George Russell finished in the top three in four of the first six races this year before introducing the upgrade in Imola.

Mercedes dropped the change after Russell finished seventh in that race before bringing it back for his victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Optimism was short-lived, however, as Russell struggled in the following four races before Mercedes again removed the upgrade, with their star driver finishing third in Hungary as a result.

Wolff says the upgrade will be "ending up in a bin somewhere" as the Mercedes chief targeted improvements in the second half of the F1 season, which resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31.

"We were misled a bit by the Montreal win... we came to the conclusion it needed to come off, it went off and the car's back to solid form," Wolff said.

"If we make a new suspension, we're doing it to make the car go quicker, and clearly there's something that wasn't right.

"And it's not something that was dead obvious. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the issue in the first place."

Mercedes' struggles have left McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris battling it out for the drivers' championship.

Russell is fourth and some 112 points adrift of Piastri, though Wolff hopes the improvements will help his driver challenge Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who is in third and 15 clear.

"Budapest showed that we've got a good car when we land it in the right place," said Mercedes' engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

"And then hopefully there'll be an opportunity to build on our tally of race wins.

"We had a great time in Montreal. Other circuits are a bit more like that coming up over the remaining 10 races, and hopefully we'll have a few more highlights."