Mercedes' work in understanding car helps them predict performance at races

Mercedes Technical Director Mike Elliott says the work the team has done in understanding their car has helped them predict their performance at races.

Elliott believes that while it has been a "frustrating" season for the Silver Arrows and described each race as a "rollercoaster" in terms of performance, the work behind the scenes has got them to a point where they have been able to predict where they will be going into race weekends.

Speaking in Mercedes' strategy debrief video, Elliott explained: “I think it has been a pretty frustrating season, not only from our general performance level compared to where we have been in previous years but also the rollercoaster we've been on race to race where we have seen our performance go up and down.

"We've been working hard to improve performance and gradually been doing that through the season but we've also been trying to get on top of this understanding of why certain circuits are good for us and certain circuits are bad for us.

"The work that has come out of that has sort of given us a tool that pretty much allows us to predict where we are going to be, so we knew going into Monza it was going to be a more challenging circuit."

Elliott: Mercedes "can't ask for any more" than podiums

Given their current pace deficit to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, Elliott says Mercedes "can't ask for any more" than podiums at the moment after seeing their pace at Spa compared to Zandvoort and Budapest.

He added: "It would be a bit more like we had seen it in Spa and less like we had seen it in Zandvoort and Budapest.

"I think having said that, given the car we had, to bring it back in third and fifth place I think was a good result for us.

"It showed that we operated the car really well, the drivers got the best out of it. Given the position we are in with the car I think I couldn't ask for any more than that.”

With just six races left in the season, George Russell has "no doubt" they still have a chance to win this year, rather than it being the first winless season for the team since 2011.