Mercedes left very good feelings during the last day of testing in Barcelona , and when they arrived in Bahrain they surprised everyone with an aerodynamic update that caused some doubts among their main rivals.
However, it took the German outfit much longer than expected to find the right set-up for the W13 at the Sakhir International Circuit, at least apparently and judging from the words of those involved and track times.
When the Saturday that put an end to the Formula 1 preseason in 2022 ended, George Russell analyzed everything that happened and assured that the pessimism that is breathed within Mercedes is real and not a simulation, as some of his opponents.
After finishing a second behind the fastest time set by Max Verstappen on the same tyre, the C5 , the softest of all, the new Mercedes driver acknowledged that the situation right now is not very promising for the team.
“I think we are not as competitive as we would like, to be honest. I think Ferrari and Red Bull are one step ahead. In general, we are further behind than we would like.”
“I think the guys at the factory are going to find the solution, we have good potential, we just need to find a way to unlock that performance,” he added.
Russell also spoke about porpoising , which despite all the changes made, continues to be the main headache for the Brackley structure.
“We know our weak points. You just have to watch the videos to see how the car bounces, we can’t put it in the right window. The team has worked very hard to find a solution to this, but we haven’t found it yet.”
As for the radical change that the Mercedes W13 first showed in Bahrain testing, the #63 explained that it doesn’t feel as different from the inside as it does from the outside.
“No, not really. From the outside it looks radically different, but looks aren’t everything! It’s still the same car, it still has the same problems we had in Barcelona,” concluded George Russell .
From March 18-20 next week, Formula 1 will hold its first race of the 2022 season, a Bahrain Grand Prix in which Mercedes and all the other teams will show their real performance for the first time. Who will have hidden more?
