Mika Häkkinen: “Mercedes must not overreact”

Absent from the top step of the podium since Hungary, with the success of Lewis Hamilton, the pilots Mercedes were unable to do anything last weekend against the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc et Sebastian Vettel in Singapore, the Team recording its third consecutive success after Spa and Monza.

If the Belgian and Italian victories were rather expected, with an SF90 taking advantage of the capabilities of its Power Unit V6 turbo / hybrid and its higher top speed in a straight line, the double of the Reds on the Marina Bay Street Circuit was far from being act.

But the developments made by Maranello on the car 2019 seems to have allowed the Italians to find a welcome surplus of performance. And according to Mika Häkkinen, double world champion 1998-1999, Ferrari has even more than closed the gap with Mercedes.

“After what we saw at Spa and Monza, Singapore had to be different, comments the Finn in his column for Unibet. On a bumpy city circuit with lots of changes of direction and slow corners, many people thought they were seeing a Mercedes battle – Red Bull.

But Ferrari surprised everyone, and maybe even them. » The old pilot McLaren even arguing in his introduction that “Singapore has given proof that the Italian team now has the best car in F1 »

Häkkinen also emphasizes that Mercedes must face increasingly fierce competition, also with Red Bull – Honda joining forces. “Having dominated F1 for five years, the team is not used to being dominated for pole and being overtaken in the race. Reacting to competition is important, but it's also important not to overreact. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Singapore Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in issue 2235 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.