Mercedes sees gap to Red Bull and Ferrari: "Especially Max on the long run"

Unlike previous years, the problems Mercedes claims to have, seem to be actually present. Andrew Shovlin, Chief Race Engineer at Mercedes, explains in a press release what the team focused on in Friday practice.

Mercedes complains of problems every year, even though the team usually has something up its sleeve. This time, however, it could be more than a game of bluff poker. According to George Russell, it is so bad that his team has to fight with teams from the midfield, and Toto Wolff also had to acknowledge his superiority to Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.

Mercedes not doing 'sandbagging' this time?

Shovlin explains that the team chose to drive with two different specifications on Friday. A useful test, the Mercedes chief thinks. "We got a clear read on which setup and floor specification was best for the bouncing," he explains.

In addition, the team was struggling to get the rear of the car lower. When they tried to do that, Shovlin says the drivers "had a pretty hard time in the second session". Also in terms of pace, Mercedes is experiencing a "significant gap to Red Bull and Ferrari". "Especially Max on the long run," he notes.

The engineer thinks there are some relatively simple solutions in terms of balance, but pace is a bigger problem. "We're not going to find more than a few tenths," Shovlin concludes.