Initially, in the 2024 season, Mercedes was far behind Red Bull and McLaren. The German outfit had one of their worst starts to a season. They could not figure out a way to understand the car better than ever. Moreover, there were a lot of correlation issues the Brackley team was dealing with. On the other hand, to make things worse than last season for them, in 2024, McLaren and Ferrari pushed them further back in the standings. Albeit, last year, McLaren was the most improved team of all, especially in the second half of the season. They were faster than all except Red Bull. Similarly, since the start of the ongoing season, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri seemed more like a threat to the duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
From the team’s perspective, McLaren drivers don’t have a huge gap between them like the Red Bull drivers have. Hence, the Austrian team is in danger of losing crucial points to the Orange Army as well as to the Prancing Horse. The duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. also don’t have a huge gap between each other. Moreover, now it turns out Mercedes has figured out a way to get back to the title hunt. Hence, more trouble for the reigning champions.
Red Bull And McLaren Get Warning Call From Mercedes
At the moment, Mercedes is 86 points behind McLaren in the constructor’s standings. They are in fourth place with 151 points. Moreover, the Norris-Piastri duo has got their team to third place at present. However, the Mercedes engineering chief has warned the rivals that the team is back on the prowl. Recently, Andrew Shovlin told the media, including RacingNews365, that it was great to see their two drivers on the podium in the last two races. Clearly, it has been a sign of progress. Moreover, Shovlin credits the hard work back at the factory for their recent progress. However, the trackside engineer mentioned, “We want more.”
Clearly, Mercedes wants to do better than third place as they know that they have worked really hard. Moreover, Andrew Shovlin mentioned that they have plans, and new upgrades are on their way. The trackside engineer added that the hope is that all these plans and new parts will come to fruition. Mercedes and other teams are preparing for another sprint race this year as the Austrian Grand Prix approaches. The engineering chief knows that the circuit will be tricky. Now, the fans wonder if it will help the Silver Arrows to beat Red Bull and McLaren.
Shovlin Believes Team Is Getting Ready For Austrian GP
The Mercedes engineering chief says during a sprint race, team races must sort out the car, and it’s set up in an hour. Moreover, Andrew Shovlin believes the drivers are happy with the new changes to the car, which makes it easy to work with. The German outfit had to make fewer changes to the start setups. Now, Shovlin hopes that the new changes put them in a good place to start the new weekend.
The trackside engineer mentioned that there are plenty to contend with a couple of sets of qualifying and another couple of races. Most importantly, the team and the drivers are enjoying the races with the car they have now at the German outfit. Finally, Shovlin said, “It is about fighting for the bigger points and just getting going in the next GP.”
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