“The potential seems to be there,” Helmut Marko wary of the threat Mercedes possesses despite their woeful start

“The potential seems to be there,” Helmut Marko wary of the threat Mercedes possesses despite their woeful start

Lewis Hamilton, Helmut Marko

Mercedes has been a thorn in Helmut Marko and Red Bull’s flesh ever since Lewis Hamilton joined in 2013. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel were utterly dominant until that point but Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes took over from there as they racked up a total of 8 constructor’s title and 7 driver world championships. This is something that a team can dream of but Mercedes did with utter ease and grace.

But, we all know that change is the only constant and whether you are at the top or at the bottom, you’ll go through a phase when it all changes. That’s exactly what seems to be happening with Mercedes this year around as they have struggled to find the right balance with the car for them to be able to build on from that. Their porpoising issues have caused a headache to Toto Wolff.

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Despite their woeful start to the season, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have shown glimpses of brilliance. The Spanish GP was an example of what the German manufacturers can do if they can get on top of porpoising. Whether it was George Russell’s defense against Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton’s pace at the tail end of the race, those were some worrying signs for both Red Bull and Ferrari.

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Helmut Marko believes it’ll be foolish to write Mercedes off after their spurts of brilliance in a few races

Red Bull's Helmut Marko & Mercedes W13
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko & Mercedes W13

Helmut Marko has therefore clarified that Red Bull will be foolish to write Mercedes off after what they have shown in spurts. Talking to Motorsport, he said, “The dangerous thing is the potential seems to be there. And once that can be called up over a race distance, then they’ll be right up there or right at the front.”

Asked about if this is all a bluff by Mercedes, he said, “No, it’s not a bluff. The bluff was where they had this weird engine advantage and last year the Hamilton engine – there they were bluffing hard. So, I don’t believe that.”

“And it’s really incredibly hard to understand where this [car is] incredibly fast… they’re the fastest in the field at [one] stage, but it doesn’t last long.“

It’ll be foolish for any team to not consider Mercedes a threat after what they have been able to do in the last few years. They have shown that they can fight through adversity and challenging that potential would be utter foolishness.

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