F1 News
'Mercedes' lead mainly due to difficult period at competitors'
- GPblog.com
Mercedes has performed excellently so far and that is partly due to the fact that the W11 is almost a sublime car. Mercedes has been able to improve the car again compared to last year and also the gap to the competition seems larger than expected, given the overall estimate was that Red Bull would be closer. That is also what makes for an interesting situation.
Cool conditions during Grands Prix
The Mercedes cars are well known for their difficulty in cooling at very high temperatures. This is a problem that other teams face much less and that could work to their advantage. However, the last two Grands Prix were in cool conditions and that is where Mercedes excels. In the first race they were significantly less good and let that be just the warmest race of the season to date.
At Motorsport.com James Allison, technical director at Mercedes, says the first conclusions about a dominant Mercedes for the rest of the season are too premature. "Every car on the grid has the sword of Damocles hanging over it, because all cars are experimental and have multiple ways to surprise. Or else, they can actually disappoint you, because you didn't see it coming."
Mercedes only really had a problem with sensors and hard kerbstones in the first race, resulting in a lot of vibrations - which made for a somewhat tricky situation. The heat still seemed to be absorbed for the time being, but Allison says: "The first race of the year was the warmest and also the one in which we were least convincing."
However, the optimal situation to do a good showdown in warm conditions has not yet occurred. "We'd like to find out how strong we are when the track is red-hot, and if we can show the same tyre management and speed." Tyre management and warm conditions are two aspects that Red Bull, for example, deals with better.
Competition has a tough time
In spite of everything Mercedes has a clear lead over the rest, but Allison doesn't want to put it that way. "We have a very small lead this year compared to last year if we look at the overall strength of the team." Thus Allison comes to the cautious conclusion that this is not the primary reason for the gap.
"I would like to say that our big lead may have more to do with the fact that the competition is having a bit of a hard time and less with the fact that we have done something special." If the problems can be solved, that gap could change. "The gap is gonna get smaller soon. For example, if Red Bull suffers less from a car breaking out, as we've seen now."