Mike Krack rubbished the notion that Mercedes' strong performance in Barcelona was proof that the Silver Arrows have leapfrogged Aston Martin in terms of competitiveness.
Krack's team has had the second-quickest car on the grid for much of this season so far. The Red Bulls have been a cut above the rest, with Aston Martin second in the pecking order in the early weeks.
But that was not the case in Barcelona. Max Verstappen dominated the Spanish Grand Prix weekend but behind him were the two Mercedes cars, Lewis Hamilton finishing second while George Russell completed the podium.
For the first time this season, Aston Martin were not in podium contention. Fernando Alonso was the home hero but never showed enough pace to challenge, finishing seventh behind team-mate Lance Stroll one place ahead.
It was an indicator that Mercedes' latest car upgrades have seen them take a significant step forward. But Krack does not believe it is definitive proof that Aston Martin have been overtaken in terms of performance.
"I think it is too early or too easy to say that, because we have not seen the full picture in qualifying," said the Luxembourger. "It's something that is similar to how it is at the beginning of the year when we say we need three races to see where we are really.
"Now it could well be that others have made a bigger step. But our early analysis so far doesn't reflect that." He also said his team will be introducing an upgrade of their own next time out in Canada which "will be a step".
Meanwhile, his driver Stroll seemed perplexed over just how quick the Mercedes cars were in Barcelona. "They had a rocket ship – I'm not sure where they found that pace," said the Canadian.
"I was expecting us to be the strongest car after Red Bull. I expected that after all the races this year. We just didn't have it. [We had] a lot of degradation and [were] struggling with our pace compared to Merc, Ferrari. Red Bull is in another league. We just didn't have the upper hand."
And team-mate Alonso, referring to those planned upgrades, sent a clear message to Mercedes about what he plans to do in Montreal. He said: "In Canada, we will bring more stuff, in Silverstone too... I think it's a race and, in Canada, we crush them."
