Mercedes was struggling at the beginning of 2020: "We've had quite a bit of luck"

The delayed season was a good thing for Mercedes. The German team said it had problems with the reliability of the engine at the start of 2020, but because of the long break due to the coronavirus, the team had enough time to solve it.

"To be honest, COVID came just at the right time," says Mercedes head designer John Owen to Motorsport.com. "Our High Performance Powertrains department had discovered a persistent problem and was still looking for a solution."

Mercedes almost kicked off the season last year with a troublesome car. But because of the long pause in which the factories had to close, the team had time to deal with those problems.

"The racing season has therefore not started in Australia. Soon after, our motor department managed to solve the biggest problems. But it could have been pretty painful if it had just been the first race. We've had quite a bit of luck," says Owen.