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Mercedes chief engineering officer Andrew Shovlin says the champion’s defensive team has no advantage over Red Bull’s new car this year.
Only thanks to the well-chosen tactics and skills of Lewis Hamilton was it possible to keep Max Verstappen behind and defeat him in the first round during yesterday’s race in Bahrain. Despite the victory, Mercedes no longer has the advantage over rivals that it has enjoyed in recent years.
“We have no advantage over them. For years, we could rely on speed in straight or fast corners. But looking at what was happening in Bahrain, there was nowhere we were clearly superior to them,” said A. Shovlin, a Mercedes specialist.
“In terms of qualifying, they were much faster than us in a few turns. They were very strong in the ninth and tenth laps. If in qualifying we were quicker in one turn, they would surpass us in others. faster car. “
Although Mercedes has triumphed in the F-1 championship for the past seven years, this is not the first time the team has struggled early in the season. After receiving more serious resistance from the Ferrari and Red Bull teams, Mercedes scored its first victory in 2018 on stage four alone, in Azerbaijan.
“We’ve had tough seasons in the past, so this start to the year is definitely not new for us. We now have two teams with very similar capabilities. I think it’s going to be a tough year. Red Bull certainly does a good job and weird. Sometimes he makes mistakes. Max has matured more and has become a smarter runner. “
“They have proven time and again that they can build a fast car. So this season it will definitely not be easy. There will be a dogged fight and we certainly will not give up easily. I think they would say the same. “
