Mercedes highlights the importance of the tire factor in 2018

Unlike previous seasons of the Hybrid Power Unit era, Mercedes did not register his name in at least one of the first three Grands Prix of the season.

The world champion team must face ever-stronger competition from Ferrari et Red Bull, who took the first step of the podium from Melbourne.

Mercedes particularly highlights the difficulty of managing the tire factor this season. With a revised and revised Pirelli range, the German team must deal with a parameter which has worked rather in favor of its rivals Ferrari and Red Bull in Australia, Bahrain and China.

« Tires this year have an impact, explains James Vowles, head of strategy at Mercedes in a video posted on the team's YouTube page.

In Melbourne we were very fast on both compounds. In the case of Bahrain, Ferrari was very fast on the supersofts but had more degradation. And in China, Red Bull was extraordinarily fast on the soft tire.

What this creates is different cars with different levels of performance, depending on track temperature, conditions and the type of tire fitted to the car.

And it seems that Ferrari in cool or very hot conditions is faster than us. »

And also to underline the good work carried out by the thinking heads of Maranello on the car 2018. “What we cannot ignore at this moment is that Ferrari had a faster car than us in Shanghai.

So, it is our duty and our job to continue to work tirelessly to go to Baku and do our best to retaliate against them. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Shanghai, in AUTO issue 2162hebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.