A slight improvement, but Mercedes still lagging behind

If the W14 seemed able to change the situation during the first two segments of the qualifying session, Q3 unfortunately sounded the death knell for the hopes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Published on 04/03/2023 à 20:02

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A slight improvement, but Mercedes still lagging behind

Mercedes sparked in Q1 and Q2. But not in the final packaging. / © DPPI

Rather gloomy at the end of the first day of testing, the members of the team based in Brackley (UK) would have had some reason to smile if qualifying had not extended beyond Q2.

Unfortunately, the Q3 was final for Mercedes' latest addition, whose concept borrows largely from that of the W13 of 2022. A concept which ended up convincing at the end of the previous year, but which seems to be returning to square one. on the occasion of this first meeting of the season. A reality which will obviously not have escaped Toto wolff.

“We started 2022 at 6/10th of the best and we start 2023 again at 6/10th, that’s a fact,” noted the Austrian manager during his traditional Saturday evening press briefing. It's up to us to stay focused and do a good job. We achieved our goals over the winter, but it's not enough.

We can solve our problems with this concept! We just need to focus on what we think is the right direction. We need to come together, not be dogmatic and understand the development that needs to be done to be competitive. I'm sure we can win races this season, but for that we have directions to take.

This weekend is of utmost importance in determining what we are missing. We have on the GPS tracks where we lacked performance and where we are competitive.

There is no miracle solution. We are not going to win 5/10th in a snap of our fingers. What change in direction can we take? What can be found between now and the next Grand Prix, then the next, etc.? I'm not going to prejudge our season after just one qualifier! »

But what is this W14 missing? Where does this evil nestle that prevents it from competing with Red Bull et Ferrari, and who makes her slide behind Aston Martin in pure performance?

“We lose in the fast corners, negotiated at high speed,” breathes the executive director of Mercedes. In the medium and slow categories, we're not bad! Every day counts and we must make the right decisions now. »

Anything better to come in the race?

Is this another effect of the Coué Method whose principles Toto Wolff seems to have adopted, but at the end of the qualifying session which he had just finished in 7th place, Lewis Hamilton seemed less affected than the day before by the lackluster performance of his mount.

“I thought today could potentially be much worse than what it ended up being,” the seven-time world champion almost rejoiced. We did a great job overnight and the car felt a lot better in FP3.

Overall, the qualifications were okay. I thought we would struggle to get into Q3 yesterday, but that's not the case. We were in the fight. We don't know if we have the same race pace as last year, but I hope we can fight in the group behind Red Bull. »

Everything will indeed depend on the pace of the W14 with full fuel and, from this point of view, the long stints carried out during Friday's free practice do not necessarily speak in its favor even if Andrew Shovlin, director of engineering track, is intended to be reassuring.

“Our straight line speed seems strong, and our degradation seems to be reasonable,” he concluded on this Saturday evening of qualifying. If the Red Bulls are out of reach from what we saw today, it would be good if we could fight with the Ferraris and the Aston Martins. »

Response tomorrow from 16 p.m.