Mercedes: Ferrari have lost straight-line advantage

Mercedes technical director James Allison says Ferrari no longer have the speed advantage they had built up after missing out on back-to-back pole positions.

An engine upgrade introduced after the summer break helped the Scuderia take six straight poles between Belgium and Mexico.

However, they have been beaten on Saturday in the United States and Brazil, with engine-related Technical Directives issued by the FIA before both races as rivals look to get to the bottom of Ferrari's power.

After Max Verstappen beat out Sebastian Vettel for pole at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton third-fastest, Allison says Ferrari's advantage is no more.

"I think they were still pretty useful on the straights, but not quite as marked as it was [on Friday]," he said. "That could be all sorts of things. We all run different power modes on a Friday.

"Probably the only thing that you could stand back from a distance and say is that it's two races on the trot where it hasn't been pole position for a Ferrari. And they sort of had a reasonably comfortable margin.

"So it's an interesting thing, but not anything you could draw any solid conclusions from.

"They're still a quick car on the straights and let's just see how they are in the in the races to come."

Allison rejected the notion that Verstappen's pole position was a complete shock.

"Max has looked quick all weekend and it's not the first time this year that Max has been the quickest car," he said.

"So it would be wrong to say this is a complete bolt from the blue.

"That's a very good car and an extremely good driver so they did a better job than we did and deserved pole position."

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