F1 News
Mercedes makes no trade-off between 'wind tunnel time' and fight with Ferrari
- GPblog.com
With both 2022 titles already given away, the battle at the front is no longer so interesting the last three races, but at both drivers and constructors the battle for P2 is still open. Mercedes still wants to attack Ferrari for P2 rather than settle for P3 with more wind tunnel time for 2023.
Battles for P2 still completely open
Among drivers, it is already known that Max Verstappen will take his second title in 2022. For P2, an exciting battle still rages between Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez. The Monegasque is two points ahead of the Mexican. Among drivers, Mercedes comes next. George Russell is a scant 50 points behind Perez and 16 points ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Lewis Hamilton is again just four points behind the Spaniard. Among the constructors, Red Bull is already champion and Mercedes, third in the championship, is 53 points behind Ferrari.
It is a gap that seems difficult to bridge with only three races left, but it is possible. Mercedes also says they still want to fight for P2. So with that, they are not giving up on finishing at P3 to get more time in the wind tunnel before 2023. In fact, the lower you finish in the championship, the more time you get as a team to test your car in the wind tunnel.
Mercedes still in pursuit of Ferrari
In a Mercedes debrief on YouTube James Vowles and Andrew Shovlin discuss the past race in the United States and look at the current championship. The duo are asked if the team is still in contention with Ferrari for P2, or if they are content with P3 because of the wind tunnel advantage. Vowles: "Our goal is clear. We are here to fight against Ferrari and take P2 in the championship. It's a deficit of more than 50 points that we have to make up in the next three races. But we are here to take everything we can."
Especially with a view to developing for next year's car, the team is still trying to improve as much as possible during the final races. Vowles seems to consider the tests the team can do during race weekends a lot more valuable than time in the wind tunnel. "In the end, we don't want to finish second or third at all. If we finish third, the extra wind tunnel time would only be a consolation prize, relatively to the achievement of being P2 in the championship."