Mercedes need "more than speed" in title run-in

Hamilton and Perez fight in Turkey — Photo: © LAT Images

Mercedes

Mercedes need "more than speed" in title run-in

Mercedes had the measure of Red Bull in Turkey

Sam Hall

Tuesday 19 October 2021 18:15

Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison believes "more than just speed" will determine the championship fight with Red Bull.

With six races remaining, Mercedes leads the constructors' championship by 36 points but Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' battle by six.

Highlighting the importance of reliability, Mercedes has taken two extra power units for Bottas in the last three races with Hamilton also fitting a new engine.

At Red Bull, Verstappen too has taken a fourth power unit.

"There is more than just speed that will determine the outcome of these races though, as the last several have shown us," said Allison.

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"There is reliability, there is pit stops, there is the weather, there is the whole gamut of things that is the sort of excitement of an F1 race, and we have to perform well in all of those. But we are in with a fighting chance.

"It's a thrilling season and these last few races should make this a season that will be thought of for many years to come as one of the classics in F1.”

Despite Mercedes enjoying stronger pace than Red Bull in Turkey, Bottas victorious by 14.5 seconds, Allison was cautious of using the Istanbul circuit as a "yardstick" for the remaining races.

“I think it is difficult to take Turkey as a sort of yardstick for what we can expect from the rest of the season," Allison explained.

"It was a very strong weekend, we were looking good all the way through, dry, wet, free practice, qualifying, race, we were strong this weekend.

"In Silverstone we put a decent upgrade package on our car, and it has sort of made our season a happier place. In the races since then, I think there has only been one where we were comprehensively beaten and that was Zandvoort.

"On the others, I think arguably we have shaded it with the quickest car and in a couple of places like Istanbul, Sochi we were proper good, Monza too, good as well.

"So, on average I think we have shaded it but in most of those places where we have been the quicker car, it has been more of a sort of coin toss than a sort of guarantee. What I think that means is that we at least are in the fight."