Are Mercedes Now SLOWER Than McLaren Too?
The British GP threw up a few surprises including the rapid pace of McLaren. They managed to outpace Mercedes and are the second customer team to do so after Aston Martin took the fight to them from beginning off the season. This has led to some questioning if Mercedes have fallen behind yet another customer team.
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0:00 - Are Mercedes Now Slower Than McLaren Too?
I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World:
Are Mercedes Now Slower Than McLaren Too?
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, while speaking to multiple media outlets, started off by highlighting how McLaren exceeded expectations
“When the Safety Car was deployed, I was pretty sure, if not convinced,”
“That we will be eating up the McLarens and finishing with P2 and P3 or even challenging for the front”
He explained why it was a surprise
“We could’ve had a go at them in the first few laps, but they both raced very strong”
“With their efficiency and top speed through the high speed corners and on the straight, there was no way to pass them”
“That came as a surprise”
He added how Silverstone was disappointing after having high hopes from it
“I thought that Silverstone – based on [our] historic performance – this was the best shot but it wasn’t”
“The car remains a handful”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton revealed if he thought their performance was a blow to their aspirations
“It’s not a blow, it’s just a wake up call for us”
“Others are overtaking us and we need to do more”
He further explained why he isn’t surprised by McLaren’s resurgence
“I’m not surprised by McLaren, if you look at the car it makes sense”
“If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it’s working”
Teammate George Russell, however, did appear to be a bit surprised
“I thought it was going to be clear-cut, you know, Lewis and I, P2, P3 and see you later”
“I couldn’t believe how well they turned the tyres on and got it going”
He signed off by acknowledging that McLaren are a step ahead at the moment
“McLaren clearly turned it up at two races now, two very different circuits”
“They’ve definitely been a small step ahead of us”
Even though Lewis managed to salvage a podium, many feel that with a more aggressive strategy or different luck with the safety car, Oscar Piastri could have beaten him
With McLaren outscoring Mercedes at the last two races at two very different types of tracks, this resurgence doesn’t seem to be a fluke
McLaren also seem very committed to 2023 as they will bring upgrades to the next race as well as confirmed by team principal Andrea Stella
“For Hungary, we have some further updates that will let more from the point of view of trying to improve the race pace”
“These will be available to both drivers”
It is possible that Mercedes are already giving less focus on 2023 and are instead focusing their efforts on 2024, which is something a few weeks ago that Lewis mentioned he hoped the team would do, but it seems equally plausible that the cost cap and the staggered development allowances may be helping more and more teams to keep finding relative performance throughout the year
Which F1 team/s without a podium this season thus far are most likely to score a podium before the end of the year?