Mercedes fears Ferrari
Already in the second part of last season, Mercedes and Ferrari they had decided to dedicate themselves to the 2023 project, convinced that they could compete for the world title with Red Bull. The reality, however, was rather different, with Toto Wolff and Frederic Vasseur already realizing during the winter tests that they were faced with a single-seater – the RB19 – that was practically perfect and difficult to beat during the season.
Many will remember the words of Wolff and George Russell on the sidelines of the first 2023 race in Bahrain, when they warned the paddock that Red Bull could easily win all the races on the calendar.
What might have seemed like a joke seemed like a prophecy capable of coming true race after race and they did well 14 consecutive successes lined up by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez and only a blackout weekend in Singapore – where Carlos Sainz won on Ferrari – averted the possibility for Red Bull to take home all the races.
Behind a Red Bull already champion with 6 races to spare and Max Verstappen now close to the hat-trick world championship in the Sprint in Qatar, the fight for second position among the constructors between Mercedes and Ferrari could heat up. The Silver Arrows still have a 20 point lead over the Reds, but for four weekends now, Leclerc and Sainz have been closing the gap on Toto Wolff’s men (+56, +45, +24, +20).
Wolff challenges the Red
“We knew that our pace in Japan would not be up to that shown in Singapore: they were two very different tracks and the characteristics of Suzuka highlighted the weaknesses of the W14. It was therefore important to limit the damage to Ferrari in the constructors’ classification. With six races remaining in the championship, we can’t wait to fight and we will give our all to stay ahead, starting next weekend in Qatar.
We will be returning to Lusail for the first time since 2021. That year was a success for us and we can’t wait to return. With its sweeping curves it is a challenging circuit that the drivers also like. There have been changes both on and off the track. In FP1 it will therefore be important to understand the effect given by the resurfacing of the track. It will be a Sprint weekend and therefore we will have little time available to understand how to behave and find a solid set-up for the rest of the weekend. It will be interesting.”
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