F1 News
'Mercedes may have overplayed its hand here, as it did at Monaco'
- GPblog.com
Despite Mercedes limiting the damage during qualifying with Lewis Hamilton's P2, the German racing team is once again experiencing a messy weekend, searching for the right tyre temperature and setup. However, the abrupt turnaround the team made for qualifying could also foreshadow another Monaco-style drama, AMuS believes.
Auto, Motor und Sport acknowledges the turnaround Mercedes made during qualifying compared to the sessions earlier in the weekend. "Despite the hot asphalt, the Mercedes were the only cars to complete two warm-up laps to warm up the tires from the inside out. The trick worked. A problem case turned into a fast car that was competitive both at top speed and in all three sectors."
"Optimism has returned", concludes the sports medium. "For the race Sunday, Mercedes expects good chances of victory, because the car already convinced on the long runs on Friday, significantly faster than Ferrari and on par with Red Bull."
Tyre-eater
Despite this, AMuS sees a similarity between this weekend and the debacle for Mercedes in Monaco: "The only question is whether Mercedes did not overshoot the mark again, as it did last in Monte Carlo. There they had also tormented themselves through training and complained about the lack of tire temperatures. Only the extent was not quite as bad as in Baku. Mercedes overreacted and made the W12 a tire eater in racing trim."