Mercedes have a long way to go but success in Spain is still significant

There was deserved elation at Mercedes after taking a double podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, the tension etched into the faces of some team members draining away. But as the team heads back to Brackley they are more than aware that they have only reached basecamp. The mountain lies ahead.

With Lewis Hamilton taking second place and his teammate George Russell third in Barcelona, it was their best result of the season and indeed the outstanding performance of their car in terms of drivability, pace and balance. Hamilton called it the best performing car Mercedes had built since he last challenged for the title in 2021.

They were right to enjoy the moment, the past year and a half has been torturous for a team used to competing for titles but reduced to hammering round in uncompetitive cars scrapping largely for at best a podium as Red Bull and Max Verstappen marched into the middle distance, champions elect already this season with 15 races remaining.

Yet there is also acknowledgement after the success in Barcelona that there is still an awfully long way to go. Hamilton, it is clear, still wants an eighth title; Mercedes want more titles but they will not be coming this year.

Verstappen finished 24 seconds up the road from the seven-time champion and the Dutchman was largely cruising for the final third. The gap is enormous and while Hamilton posited the hope of fighting Red Bull for a win by the end of the season that remains a major ask.

The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, while clearly pleased also had to manage expectations. “We learned we have a good car, we are much closer but you see where the benchmark is,” he said, referring to Verstappen’s advantage.

At least perhaps for the first time this season there