Mercedes hidden or Mercedes in trouble? This seems to be the big question circulating in the Formula 1 paddock at the end of the three days of testing in Bahrain. In seven days, again at the Sakhir circuit, things will finally start to get serious. Until then, obviously, we can only rely on the opinions of those directly involved, who however seem to want to ‘play’. Red Bull and Ferrari believe that at Brackley they are just trying to hide their actual potential, while the two drivers of the silver arrows – George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – reiterate that they do not feel vying for victory in the first race of the season.
A ‘synthesis’ of these points of view was tried by the Trackside Engineering Director of the team that has won the constructors’ title for eight seasons, Andrew Shovlin. Speaking at the end of today’s test day, the English engineer highlighted above all the hopping problems of the W13, admitting that the team is looking for an effective solution for this and other small hitches that have emerged between Barcelona and Bahrain. “The program was similar to yesterday’s – explained Shovlin – but with Lewis doing some work on the race in the morning and George running on less fuel and softer tires in the afternoon. Both sessions were quite informative. We made some progress with the hopping and this has made the car less difficult to manage when it is at its limit. It also looks like we’ve taken a step in the right direction with the setup today. But we can find even more rhythm if we can make the car more stable and with fewer rebounds“.
In order to win the first race of the year in Bahrain, however, Shovlin is also convinced that the W13 must necessarily complete a further step: “Judging the car from a performance point of view is less easy – he concluded – we struggled during the stints with the harder tires, while with the softer compound we seem to be in better shape. We need to find some more rhythm if we want to fight for the victory already in the first race, but we are learning and developing at a good level. We will focus on these aspects and see where we are in seven days “.
#Shovlin #win #find #rhythm #FormulaPassionit
