“It’s impossible to say where we stand,” Mercedes uncertain of W14’s performance after the first day of pre-season testing
Mercedes will focus only on itself and not worry about their competitors during the limited time of pre-season testing.
Follow Us
Mercedes W14, Image via Twitter
Every year Mercedes AMG Petronas are accused of sandbagging. Last season, though they expressed their thoughts on W13 initially, the fans called them out for playing low. However, it did not take long for them to agree with the team that the car was not up to the mark. The team’s main focus was to resolve the porpoising issue. As the 2023 pre-season testing is underway, one good news for the Mercedes fans is that the W14 does not have porpoising.
Now the team can focus solely on the performance without worrying about bouncing. Reliability has not been a concern so far. The aim is to catch up with Red Bull and Ferrari regarding pace. After day one of pre-season testing, the German team shared their views. George Russell took the W14 to the track in the morning, and Sir Lewis Hamilton had his chance in the second half.
Andrew Shovlin, the engineering director of the team, stated that the performance of the car is always blurry after the first day. “So it’s impossible to say where we stand, but we’ve already identified several key areas where we can find some performance” The team is hell-bent on catching up with Red Bull and Ferarri ahead of the first race, which is just a week away.
Mercedes have a better start to the 2023 season compared to last year
After George Russell’s morning session, he gave a press release stating that he felt great being back in the car. It is their first experience with W14. “It is still too early to say where our performance levels are relative to the competition, but we had a clean day and learned a lot” Lewis Hamilton, being the positive person he is, gave hopeful feedback. “We got through our program and have gathered lots of data. We also had good reliability which contributed to our strong mileage total”
Both the drivers admitted there are positives to take away from day one of testing. The team wants to focus on improving the performance of the car and extracting its true potential. The team back at the factory, in Brackley and Brixworth, has been working hard over the winter break. It is essential to step up their game in order to beat their competitors.
The lap times in the pre-season testing do not mean anything. Mercedes want to keep their heads down and focus on themselves during these 3 important days. The performance of the cars is unknown, but there will be a better understanding in the days to come. The Formula One fan has their hands full already with Drive to Survive and pre-season testing. It won’t be long before the race begins at the Bahrain International circuit.
In case you missed it:
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)