The surprise created by Mercedes on the first day of testing in Bahrain gives way to a considerable workload for the Anglo-German team, which must determine if its bet has been the right one.
People tend to think that innovation generates results immediately, but the truth is that this is not usually the case and usually requires a lot of work to make it viable.
This is the case of the new aerodynamic package of the Mercedes W13 presented this Thursday in Sakhir, which although it has amazed everyone, it is not yet allowing the formation of the three-pointed star improve your performance.
“We need to improve the balance between slow and high speed corners, and there is also too much overheating of the tyres”
Mercedes Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlinconfirmed this, admitting that, “compared to Barcelona, it has been more difficult to get the car well balanced.”
During this Thursday’s session in Bahrain, the Mercedes W13 He was very unstable under braking, both in the hands of Lewis Hamilton in the morning and with George Russell at the wheel in the afternoon.
“It seems that we have made some progress throughout the day, but it’s always hard to judge accurately hereas the drop in temperature tends to flatter everything you do on the back end,” notes Shovlin.
A radical concept
After the first contact, Mercedes is not sure if the bet it has made with the pontoons so reduced will be the winner, so it must continue working in the two remaining days of testing.
“We have a lot of work to do regarding the validation of the upgrade kit and we will continue the data collection program in the coming days, so it’s a bit early to tell if everything is working as expected”Shovlin points out.
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“Certainly there is room for improvement to get the right balance between slow and high-speed corners.and there is also too much overheating of the tyres”, admits the British engineer.
“Therefore, we have a lot to keep busy with for the next two daysbut we are on a steep learning curve with the new car and tyres: we will analyze what we have and hopefully take a step forward.”
On the first day of testing at the Bahraini circuit, the Mercedes occupied ninth and eleventh position, with times far from the lead and, yes, good reliability to exceed 120 laps.
Photos: Mercedes-AMG F1