Mercedes not that bad: 'Hopefully podium in Australia'

After one race in 2023, Mercedes came out with a letter of apology to all its fans. The letter apologised for the poor car built last winter; according to some, a knife in the back of the staff. It was a poor start to the season, but at the second race in Saudi Arabia, the team beat both Ferrari drivers.

Mercedes looks nice on Sunday

In the race, the W14 doesn't even look that bad. And even Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' technical director, does not see things looking very bleak for upcoming race in Australia after the Saudi Arabia GP. Especially not with the knowledge that Red Bull Racing does not seem to be threatened by any other team. In a press statement, the Briton reveals, "Today we did exactly what we needed to do, which is to maximise the potential in what we have."

At the time Shovlin said this, the team was still under the illusion that George Russell had secured the final podium spot because Fernando Alonso had received a grid penalty. In the end, it was not to be for the Briton, but for the upcoming race, Mercedes is not ruling a podium spot out: "We're looking forward to the next race in Melbourne; it's closer in characteristics to Saudi than Bahrain, so hopefully we'll have a car that we can fight for a podium. If there is any more performance that we can bring we'll make sure we get it to the track."