F1 News
'Red Bull Racing gains another two to three tenths with this in Bahrain'
- GPblog.com
Before the first Grand Prix has been driven, it is still guesswork which teams are in the best position. Red Bull Racing and Ferrari came out of the winter tests well, but Auto, Motor und Sport reports that there is great suspicion in the paddock about Mercedes' performance.
After two winter tests in Barcelona and Bahrain, followers of Formula 1 don't know anything for sure yet. Testing is a moment for teams to try things out, but with so many new rules also a chance to not show the back of their tongues just yet. Mercedes in particular has been very adept at this in recent years.
Improvement for Red Bull
According to AMuS, Red Bull also has a few things up its sleeve. For example, Red Bull was still far from the minimum weight and will gain two to three tenths with the weight loss in Bahrain. In addition, it did drive Max Verstappen's fastest run in Bahrain on the highest engine setting, but not with an empty tank.
However, no one seems to want to make a prediction about Mercedes. Some believe that Mercedes lagged by as much as a second during testing with engine power alone. This was said based on GPS data from Williams, who were in action with the same Mercedes engine. According to that data, George Russell with his Mercedes would then be at the same time as Verstappen.
Bouncing W13
Besides the engine, there is also room for improvement in the chassis. Mercedes engineers are working on a setup that generates more downforce and less bounce. Especially the latter was a problem for Mercedes during the test days, but at AMuS they wonder if Mercedes can solve this with some slots in the floor without losing time.
The fear of Mercedes is not surprising, because the German formation won the last eight world titles among the constructors and often seemed to be out of shape during the winter tests. Each time, the team was there when it needed to be, so the competitors have been warned.