'From what I've seen and heard, Mercedes' problems are real'

Red Bull Racing seemed to be the team to beat in 2021 during the winter test. Test results should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but F1 reporter Will Buxton thinks we've seen a pretty realistic picture of the proportions. Mercedes is in any case not favourite in his eyes.

Mercedes never had so many problems before

"I can't remember the last time I had these guys anywhere but on top before the start of the season," he says in his vlog on Youtube. "But Mercedes are second at the moment if you look at the competitive rankings. Given the problems they had during the winter test, you could even place them lower."

Because of their reputation, however, Buxton says that would be neither fair nor realistic, but "from what I've seen and heard, their problems are real." These included not only reliability issues, but also with handling. Something Buxton has seen with his own eyes and he also has a suspicion as to what caused it.

"To make the most of the new floor guidelines, you have to use a lean angle (rake) which Mercedes are simply not used to. That is said to give them a lot of headaches and it will cost them some time in that case," said Buxton, who does give Mercedes chances in 2021, but does not see them as favourites.