Mercedes shouldn't cheer too soon: 'Take it with a pinch of salt'

George Russell finished third on the podium in Barcelona after managing to keep Max Verstappen behind him for longer periods. Lewis Hamilton also had a good race after he was hit by Kevin Magnussen on the first lap and had to make an early pit stop. The Briton was then the fastest man on the track and he made up a lot of ground. It is clear that Mercedes has taken a step in the right direction, but now it is up to the team to keep it up.

"It is encouraging. I’d take it with a pinch of salt because it’s small stepping stone. Mercedes, traditionally, has always been brilliant around Barcelona. I’m holding back just until they go to Monaco, which has always been ironically quite a tough race weekend for them", the analyst says to Sky Sports.

Mercedes is moving in the right direction

Although the Brit wants to be cautious, he does see progress at Mercedes. The W13 suffered a lot of porpoising during the previous races, but that problem was nowhere to be seen in Barcelona. "I think the signs are pointing in the right direction, that it’s going their way, they are making improvements, the car doesn’t suffer this porpoising, bouncing issue that they have had. That was a big hurdle to get over, and I think if they can stay on top of that problem, then we should expect them to hopefully continue to close in on the gap in front, but there is still a gap."