Mercedes did not start the winter test in Bahrain as they had hoped. The team is in the pits after one lap and will not come out of them for a while. There are problems with the gearbox.
Immediate problems at Mercedes
Mercedes indicated before the start of the season that there were problems with the engine, but of course, nobody wanted that after the sandbagging of Mercedes in recent years. However, now something new comes on top of that, as Mercedes has a problem with the gearbox and will not come out for the time being.
''There were problems with the fire-up, and the screens are in front of it now. That is only allowed if there is a major problem, so that is the case now. They are reporting to me now that there is a problem with the gearbox. They will replace it now and get back on the road as soon as possible. They will also investigate what caused the problem'', said Ted Kravitz who expects this to take about an hour.
UPDATE | Problem at Mercedes finally solved after more than three hours
After nearly 3.5 hours, Valtteri Bottas is back on the track in Bahrain. While the gearbox change was estimated by a Mercedes spokesman to be no more than an hour, the Finn had to wait a long time to come out again. The question is how many more laps he can do before he has to hand over his car to Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon.