By Carol M. Creasey
After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, a spokesman for Mercedes stated that the car had fundamental issues, and they would be working hard for the next two weeks to try and resolve the problem.
The team collects data, and it is studied very carefully to try and understand as much as possible about the car in an effort to make it go faster. Then it was announced that they would be testing setups in Australia. It is becoming clearer after 3 years of difficulties, that the new regulations do not suit the Mercedes’ approach.
Lewis said the car felt all right in Australian Grand Prix Free Practice 1, but was not particularly fast, and he was 9th on the time sheets. George, on the other hand, was 3rd. However, after Free Practice 2, Lewis confessed that the car had been the worst he had ever known. Mercedes later put out a statement explaining that they had made a massive mistake while trying out extreme setup choices, and all the fans could hope for was that it could be rectified in FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday. It is certainly surprising that a team that has won eight Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ Championships could now be struggling so much.
In the third and final practice Lewis felt more comfortable with the car, which made him feel more hopeful about qualifying. However, after making it through to Q2, Lewis missed out on getting into Q3, and ended up in 11th place. Russell made it into the top 10, ending up in 7th position. Verstappen took pole with Sainz a fine 2nd and Perez in 3rd. Afterward Perez lost that position when he was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding. When being interviewed afterwards, Lewis was visibly lacking in confidence when he explained that the way the car behaves messes with his mind. Sometimes a good race pace seems to be there, but at other times, the setup and balance just doesn’t work. In contrast, Russell said he feels comfortable in the car, but it just lacks performance.
Some fans’ reaction at seeing Lewis so down was anger that he is being put through such uncertainty for the 3rd year in a row, while others advised caution. The work being done at Mercedes’ factory has been going on non-stop, but it just seems the team has a hard time finding that sweet spot to achieve the results that they want. Toto Wolff has expressed his frustration at these results, but not with his drivers. He has frequently stated that they have the best two drivers on the grid, but nobody can win races or achieve podiums with a car that is difficult to drive.
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Sunday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and Lewis when interviewed was in optimistic mode. When the race started, he overtook Alonso for 10th place, meanwhile Verstappen led off with Carlos Sainz in hot pursuit. It wasn’t long before the Spaniard had overtaken him, and the crowd cheered. Shortly after that, it became apparent that Verstappen had a problem with his car. Smoke was billowing out of it, so he headed for the pits and, by then, his car was on fire. It turned out to be a problem with his handbrake, but it ended his hopes of finishing the race. Lewis was on soft tyres, so he had to pit quite early for a tyre changer, and he came out in 13th place. He started to make his way up the grid until he was 10th, but then disaster struck on lap 17. He had a sudden engine failure, so he had to pull off in a safe place and retire the car.
Unfortunately, George Russell also suffered a DNF, after he crashed his car into the barrier while in pursuit of Alonso. Luckily, he was ok. Later, Alonso was given a 20 second penalty, and 3 penalty points on his licence for “dangerous driving”. Opinions were divided on whether this was fair, with Alonso himself saying he had brake problems, and some people felt George had badly misjudged the corner in a car that is not very stable. Carlos Sainz, who had just recovered from an appendix operation, drove a fine race and fully deserved the win. Leclerc was 2nd and Norris was 3rd. Carlos was also voted the Driver of the Day.
After the race, Toto Wolff was in despair for his drivers and his team, but when Lewis was interviewed, he was calm. However, he also said that this was the worst start to a season he had ever had. With two retirements, Mercedes had seemingly hit rock bottom, but they have vowed to dust themselves off and get back to scoring points again. Hopefully, after this, the only way to go is up.
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