Mercedes had problems: 'Biggest disappointment we had'

For Mercedes, the first 12 races of the season were a bit shaky. Despite finishing second in the constructors' championship, the first three races were a setback for Hywel Thomas. The Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP is the person ultimately responsible for engines at the German team.

"The biggest surprise and disappointment we had was the first three events. We suffered a DNF in each event across the works and customer teams. That really forced us to focus on understanding how we got into that situation and make sure we weren't just putting sticking plasters over the issues," Thomas told Mercedes' site in a post.

"We've had too many issues on a Friday, so we've done an enormous amount of work to try and understand what the Power Unit is going through, to make sure we've got all our set-ups correct," Thomas explained.

Compared to the first races of the current Formula 1 season, the W14 car has become a lot more competitive. Drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell already managed a combined 247 in the world championship. Red Bull does not seem to be able to be challenged anymore, as the Austrian racing stable has already scored more than 500 points.