Despite leading both Formula One championships, Mercedes is still far from getting complacent.
Both Mercedes drivers are leading 1-2 in the Drivers' standings. The team has an 87-point lead over their nearest rival in the Constructors' championship. With at least 10 races to go in the official F1 calendar (there might be changes along the way), it looks like Mercedes already has one hand gripped on both trophies.
But they can't get complacent just yet.
Since winning the first six races of the season, Mercedes has only won two of the next six. McLaren's Lando Norris took the last two, including that inspired drive at Circuit Zandvoort.
Mercedes did manage to haul 46 points in the recent Dutch Grand Prix. It was their most productive weekend since bagging 55 points in China back in March.
However, the team might still be concerned about a couple of things.
Antonelli's understeer complaints compound reliability issues
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished P2 in Zandvoort, but apparently, he could've fought harder for the win. After topping the lone practice session of the weekend, Antonelli seemed to be on the back foot the rest of the weekend.
In the main race on Sunday, Antonelli described a progressive understeer with each tyre set, It culminated in a very difficult final stint when the team swapped cars, thinking that Antonelli has the pace to chase Norris in front.
But the young Italian driver never got close to the reigning World Champion.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said that they initially found no clear cause for the understeer. Prior to the race, Shovlin clarified that they didn't change anything in the car, including no such alterations on the WR17's aero balance. But further investigations are underway.
This understeer problem compounds reliability issues that have been prevalent in the first half of the season, especially in George Russell's car.
It doesn't help that Mercedes that McLaren seems like they've fixed the reliability problems they had earlier in the year.
Cost cap limitations are another obstacle for Mercedes
And then there's the issue of money, which is hindering Mercedes' progress in the development race. According to team principal Toto Wolff, budget cap constraints are affecting their ability to counter their rivals' developments.
This means that Mercedes has to get creative in which race they're going to bring an upgrade. They might target a circuit they think they'll perform better, so as to help ensure maximum points. Or they can opt for damage limitation by delivering upgrades to a track that doesn't suit them.
