Hamilton himself had already attracted attention during the final test drives in Bahrain with the statement that his team would not fight for victories for the time being. The start of the season showed that, as some speculated, it was not a bluff. Obviously, Mercedes not only has problems with the new aerodynamics – the appearance of the cars has been completely revised – but also with the engine. It is striking that those teams that are supplied with engines by Mercedes are placed at the end of the field: Williams, Aston Martin and even McLaren.
Two weeks to work on the car
Toto Wolff’s team has just under two weeks until the next race in Australia. Formula 1 returns to Australia on April 10th. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re a great team”, says Hamilton, actually appearing optimistic and not bitter. Due to Red Bull’s double failure in Bahrain, the driver and team ratings are still within tolerable limits for the Silver Arrows.
But if there is no improvement soon, Red Bull and Ferrari pull away – and Mercedes would only play a supporting role for the first time in nine years.
Source: with sid/dpa