Mercedes has "work cut out" to overcome pace issues - Shovlin
Mercedes has "work cut out" to overcome pace issues - Shovlin
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin believes the team has its "work cut out" to overcome the issues that blighted its pre-season test programme.
The reigning champions emerged from the three days at the Bahrain International Circuit bottom of the lap chart after encountering numerous problems with its W12, and convinced it is behind Red Bull and other teams on pace.
In past years Mercedes has normally been reliable in testing and with a solid platform on which to build for the season, but on this occasion, there are genuine concerns.
"We've made a bit of progress with the balance on higher fuel and the car was more predictable but we can see from the data we've collected over the last few days that on race pace, we're not as quick as Red Bull," declared Shovlin.
"The lower fuel work was a more confusing picture, we didn't gain enough and we need to go and look at our approach as far too many cars were ahead of us on pace.
"We've had issues in recent years with pace in winter testing and managed to make good progress before the first race but we may have our work cut out this time.
"We've not got long before we're back here for the race so we've planned a programme of work to try and understand some of our issues and will be leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to find some more speed over the next 10 days."
After Valtteri Bottas amassed 86 laps in the morning, Hamilton followed up with just 54 in the afternoon - the second-lowest on the day - with his running notable for one 360-degree spin in the final corner as he was about to embark on a quick lap.
Hamilton recognises there are problems that need solving before the first race of the season in a fortnight's time in Bahrain.
"I've never been a massive fan of testing, I just love racing," said Hamilton. "It's probably the only year I would have asked for more days though because we've got lots of work to do.
"We've never felt in the past that we were quicker than everyone else after testing because you never know what people are doing with the fuel and setups.
"We always just focus on understanding our car the best way we can so if I'm honest, I feel the same this year. We won't know until we get to qualifying in two weeks' time exactly where we stand.
"Today we made some improvements but it's still not where we want to be. I can't pick out any one area, it just feels globally through the lap that we need to improve."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull now pressured into MISTAKES insists F1 rivals as title race heats up
- 16 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Vettel CONFIRMS stunning comeback as Red Bull boss issues Verstappen statement
- 33 minutes ago
F1 fan celebrates Verstappen failure with OUTRAGEOUS permanent change
- 1 hour ago
Wolff opens up on WHY Mercedes are 'very bad'
- 2 hours ago
F1 winner Sainz shares RAW images from surgery and recovery
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton and Cullen F1 fairytale COULD happen as clues reveal how
- 3 hours ago
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
Wolff opens up on WHY Mercedes are 'very bad'
F1 pundit SLAMS Mercedes as Hamilton woes continue
Hamilton labelled 'best that's ever walked the earth' after INCREDIBLE display
F1 team SAVED Russell from major injuries after horror crash
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860