"We are still at the same point as before" - Mercedes don't want to bring updates as they would confuse the team

Mercedes do not plan on bringing any major updates to their W13 ahead of the upcoming 2022 F1 Imola GP, according to team principal Toto Wolff.

After a rather sluggish start to their 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been waiting to see some performance gains to the Silver Arrows. However, Wolff feels a rushed approach to updates could confuse the team.

Speaking in an interview with motorsport.com's Italian section, the Austrian elaborated on the obstacles Mercedes currently face with regard to upgrades. He said:

"I think the team is still understanding the car, understanding how the tires work. Nothing we've done this weekend has unlocked the aero potential or reduced the porpoising."

Wolff added:

"We're still at the same point we were before. That's why it doesn't make sense to bring updates, because it would confuse us even more. maybe it's the fact that the more downforce you have, the worse the porpoising is. So we're still learning."

The decision not to bring any major upgrades to the car seems more sensible when one considers that the upcoming race weekend in Imola will have a sprint race.

All teams will have limited testing time on track ahead of the qualifying session for the sprint race, which will act as the qualifier for the feature race on Sunday. Ferrari have also opted against bringing a new update to the event.

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"It's going to take a number of races" - Mercedes driver George Russell on upgrades to W13

Mercedes driver George Russell admitted that the wait for updates to the W13 could be a long one.

The 24-year-old joined Mercedes from Williams with hopes of competing consistently at the top. However, he has struggled to stay abreast of the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of pace.

Speaking in the aforementioned interview with motorsport.com, the Briton elucidated the Silver Arrows' predicament, saying:

"Unfortunately, there's nothing big in the pipeline, at least in the short term. No big news is going to come overnight. It's going to take a number of races."

"Only small things will come, we'll maybe make progress, but we're sure our rivals will do the same, so it may not be clear when and how the W13 will make progress, because Ferrari and Red Bull will make progress in turn."

Since there's no race this weekend, the team in Brackley and Brixworth will have some time to reorganize before flying off to Italy for the fourth race of the year.