Competitors expect Mercedes to recover ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after their slow start to the Formula 1 season.
Ferrari and Red Bull have backed Mercedes, believing that they can overcome their shortcomings in Bahrain and get back to speed in time for the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. In fact, Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, believes that their biggest competitors are Mercedes and Aston Martin, and as a result, doesn't think that the setback will put down the German carmaker’s season.
Mercedes witnessed a poor start to the Formula 1 season in Bahrain, with their drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, dropping to sixth and seventh, respectively (a collective fourth place) behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. But judging by their impressive mid-season comeback last season, their competitors have decided to disregard their display on the track at Bahrain and expect better from the German constructor.
Following their bad start and the pressure for better results, Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, has pulled the plug on their current W14 car concept from last season as he has now revealed that he agrees with Hamilton’s declaration that Mercedes won't be competitive with that concept. He then called for the team to look towards other options, which would probably include Red Bull’s downwash solution. Although he also said that the W14 concept will not be totally discontinued, he declared that their races in Bahrain will be effectively analyzed and improved upon.
Despite these claims of the winning prospects of the W14 concept, Red Bull boss, Helmut Marko, believes that sticking with the concept was “a step backwards” for Mercedes. But he also still maintains that since the Bahrain Grand Prix is the first of the season, Mercedes has a lot of time to make amends and get back to winning ways. He said:
“After one race, it's difficult to say. There are still many competitors left. I also believe that Mercedes will become better throughout the season.”
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur also maintained the same notion that it was too early to write off Mercedes, especially with the recent comebacks they've done in the previous season. Frederic believes that Mercedes can “wake up” in the Saudi Arabian GP, probably with the different tracks of Jeddah.
Recall that Mercedes made a comeback last season to emerge victorious at the podium, with George Russell clinching the top spot in Brazil. The events of last season would most likely remain in the minds of Mercedes’ competitors, and they'll try as much as possible to remain focused. Quoting Red Bull team boss Christian Horner;
“I've been around long enough to see things change so quickly. I think these cars are still relatively immature, and as teams develop and upgrades come, things will change. One team has adopted our theme, and it made a gain. So I guess at one point it is going to converge, and that can happen during a season.”
With Mercedes-Benz set to adopt a new car concept, we could see this “convergence” if they eventually abandon their comments about “not adopting Ferrari/Red Bull setup” and join the Red Bull downwash solution bandwagon.