“Not where we want to be, but we promise we’ll figure our way forward,” said Mercedes after finishing the Bahrain Grand Prix with a P5 and P7.
What exactly will Mercedes do to fulfill those promises? The promise to figure out the way ahead, the promise to provide a better car to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell after a hurtful season, is not seemingly getting into action. The W14 has been way too back from Red Bull, Ferrari, and even Aston Martin. Along with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso stepped into the title contender. This year, there will indeed be a three-way battle for the championship but not with Mercedes Red Bull and Ferrari. Perhaps it will go as Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Ferrari.
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff explained the reasons why he thinks the W14 trobled the drivers in the qualifying session of Bahrain. He said, “We got the physics wrong, and now we need to correct it.” Wolff showed concern about the fact that there are still three more years when Mercedes and the rest of the F1 teams will have to work under the same technical regulations. This is working well for others, but for the Silver Arrows, it is getting hard to survive.
Mercedes Is Ready To Change The Direction and Switch the Focus In Order To Win
The car lacks downforce, it’s not balanced, and it needs development, a changed concept, and a new design. And Mercedes will do it. Toto Wolff has revealed Mercedes’s plans. He explained the team tried the best they could. But now it seems like they need to regroup and sit down with the designers and engineers and make plans. And decisions for which direction they need to move now. He said, ” deciding what the development direction Mercedes needs to pursue in order to win is” is their next step at the moment.
But why could Mercedes not meet expectations in the first place itself? Why Hamilton and Russell had to face a dull performance in the test and yet again in the free practice, in the qualifying, and in the Grand Prix? With so many runs The Brackley-Based team is yet to find what’s best for them. Boss Toto Wolff believes that last year the adaption to the ground floor effects was taken wrong. They thought it could get fixed in the winter break by sticking with this concept of the car. But, unfortunately, it did not as envision.
Nor Mercedes is well aware that they “need to switch their focus” on what can lead them to the “right direction,” as suggested by Toto Wolff. The worse thing than getting defeated by Red Bull and Ferrari is, remaining behind Aston Martin. It is the team that holds Mercedes PT and gearbox DNA. And with the same wind tunnel, Mercedes could not do what Martin did. Alonso Fernando, during the time of his career-ending years, is back to his form. Let’s see if, once again, we’ll ever get to see Hamilton Vs. Alonso or not.
