Mercedes was not their usual self-confidence after the preseason test ended in Bahrain. The global management champions had a number of issues with their car, as well as parts they gave to other teams.
During the preseason test, Mercedes has not looked as fast as Red Bull. Now, the Silver Arrows have admitted that Red Bull could have the edge.
Mercedes route engineer Andrew Shovlin has revealed that the team is behind Red Bull, according to data collected from the preseason test.
Shovlin said:
“We have made some progress with the higher fuel balance and the car was more predictable but we can see from the data we have gathered over the last few days that we are not as fast as Red at a distance race. Taurus. “
💬 “We’re not fast enough right now but I have all the faith in the team.
“We love challenges and this is definitely a challenge for us!” ✊
Honest and open details with Lewis after three difficult days of trials in Bahrain 👇 pic.twitter.com/pKwokp0MI6
– Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@ MercedesAMGF1) March 14, 2021
Speaking about the team’s low fuel run, Shovlin said:
“The lowest fuel consumption was a more confusing picture … we had too many cars ahead of us at speed today. We’ve had things in recent years with speed in winter tests and we’ve been able to make good progress. before the first race but we may have to cut out our work this time. “
When asked about the team’s efforts to lose speed, Shovlin said:
“It is not long before we are back here for the race so we have designed a program of work to try and understand some of our issues and we will not leave a stone unturned in our efforts to find some distance over the next 10 days. “
Start end for Mercedes?
The ruling warriors were captured on patrol. The team suffered transmission issues on the first day. The team lost more time on the second day as Lewis Hamilton spun and carried his car near Turn 13.
In the small run the car got, it didn’t look as fast as any rim. The team has one of the lowest lap numbers in preseason tests and did not show the inflation speed to which they are accustomed. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for Mercedes rule?