“The gap is far too big,” Giedo van der Garde dismisses possibility of a Mercedes turnaround to win the title


“The gap is far too big,” Giedo van der Garde dismisses possibility of a Mercedes turnaround to win the title

Mercedes cars in action

Mercedes have been in a spot of bother ever since the start of the season and doesn’t seem to find an answer for their well documented porpoising issues. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have time and again complained about the amount of lap time they have been losing out on the straights against the likes of much more adept Ferrari and Red Bull. It’s been a match up between men and boys until now.

ADVERTISEMENT

The German manufactures are placed third in the championship but that is no where they expected to be. They are 56 points behind Red Bull and 62 points behind Ferrari and these are the standings after just 5 rounds of racing. The only piece of positive news has been the impressive performances of their prodigy, George Russell, who is slowly and steadily coming into his own and cementing his seat behind that Mercedes wheel.

The young Brit has even outperformed the seven time world champion on more than once occasions. But, the question that arises is whether his performances will be enough for Mercedes to pose a title threat? It seems unlikely from the evidence that is in front. There will to have be drastic change in the situation which will need a considerable drop in performance from both Red Bull and Ferrari, and an upward trend in Mercedes’ performances, too.

Also read: “A disappointing post-race penalty”: Alpine CEO Laurent Ross criticizes FIA’s decision to penalise Fernando Alonso in Miami

ADVERTISEMENT

Giedo van der Garde believes it might be too late for Mercedes to make a comeback and snatch title from Red Bull or Ferrari

Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes
Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes

Both the situations look highly unlikely as of now. Ex-Formula 1 racer Giedo van der Garde also believes that it might be too late for a Mercedes comeback. He said, “No. That gap is far too big. In qualifying it’s about six to seven tenths, but in the race it was constantly a second.”

“It takes a lot of time, effort and knowhow to get that back. With a budget cap, that becomes very difficult.”

“Sure, they will make a jump and maybe they will be lucky enough to win a race once, but I certainly don’t see them fighting for the championship anymore,” as reported by planetf1.

The German manufacturers might not be able to comeback from behind to win the title but they will have to fix their issues if they want to save face and also avoid having a disastrous season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Also read: “Age is incredibly important in racing,” Former F1 driver, Jacky Ickx doubts whether Lewis Hamilton will rise again

Also read: “The older I get, the more I realise it’s about the people,” Lewis Hamilton suggests races in the city rather than in the middle of nowhere