Problems at Mercedes? 'Hope they don't fix that soon'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Helmut Marko is vigilant after Mercedes' lacklustre performance in the winter test. According to the Red Bull Racing top man, that winter test by Mercedes says nothing about their actual performance when it really matters, he let the Kronen Zeitung.
Good form of Red Bull
Mercedes drove a lot of meters during the two winter tests (3902km) in Barcelona and Bahrain and ended up driving only twelve kilometres less than Ferrari. So a good and reliable test you would say, but the performance on the track was not super. The W13 suffered a lot of porpoising, didn't steer well in the corners and didn't seem to have the speed of Ferrari or Red Bull Racing during any of the runs.
Mercedes also dived into the underdog role and stated that Ferrari and Red Bull are much better off. However, we have known this attitude for a long time, because since 2014 Mercedes has played this trick every year, only to win the constructors' title eight times in a row. Marko is therefore cautious.
Watching Mercedes
''Mercedes was nowhere during the test last year, but they won the first race. With the aerodynamics, it's a bit trickier this year. I hope they don't solve their problem with bouncing so quickly,'' Marko says of the big rival. Red Bull and Ferrari are additionally watching Mercedes' mirrors, which Marko says are 'definitely a point of discussion'.
Despite a watchful eye on Mercedes, Red Bull's own confidence is high. The RB18 was reliable, fast and laying well on the road though, which is why Max Verstappen is seen by many as the favourite for victory. Marko also looks to Mercedes in this regard. ''We don't know if Mercedes can pull it off now,'' the Austrian concludes.